Emergence and accumulation of novel pathogens suppress an invasive species

Stricker, Kerry Bohl; Harmon, Philip F.; Goss, Erica M.; Clay, Keith; Flory, S. Luke

doi:10.1111/ele.12583

Cited by 113 publications

(132 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Foliar fungal pathogens recently have been documented on Microstegium , with potentially significant population‐level effects (Stricker et al . ), but little disease was observed at the site. We posit that the lack of disturbance during early years, intensifying competition for resources (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Effects of a non‐native grass invasion decline over time

et al. 2017

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Summary Most research on dynamics and impacts of plant invasions has evaluated patterns and effects over brief time periods (i.e. <4 years). As such, little is known about the persistence of invasions and their long‐term impacts on native species. To experimentally evaluate longer‐term effects of invasions, we established field plots with native tree and herbaceous species and then invaded half of the plots with the most widespread invasive grass in the eastern United States (Microstegium vimineum). Over 8 years, we quantified invader and native plant biomass, native plant diversity, and tree density and size. Microstegium was dominant during the first 4 years of the experiment, constituting more than 60% of herbaceous plant biomass in the plots, and native herbaceous biomass was 57% lower and diversity was 44% lower in invaded vs. control plots. However, both Microstegium and herbaceous native species declined in later years. By the end of the experiment, Microstegium was only 2% of community biomass, and there was no difference in native herbaceous biomass in invaded and control plots. We applied a fire treatment in years 6 and 7 to test if repeated disturbance is required to maintain invader dominance and to evaluate how this common management practice in eastern US forests affected invasive and native plants. Tree density was 65% lower and tree diameters were 28–51% smaller on average in fire‐treated compared with control quadrants, resulting in significantly greater light availability in fire‐treated areas. Consequently, Microstegium and native herbaceous species biomass increased significantly where fire was applied. However, only native species were persistent, and after 8 years, Microstegium was nearly absent, regardless of the fire treatment. Synthesis. The invasive grass was initially abundant and suppressed native species, but invader decline over time corresponded with succession to native herbaceous species dominance when fire was applied, and to native tree dominance without fire such that after 8 years, the initial effects of invasion were no longer apparent. Thus, our data provide some of the first experimental evidence that while the initial effects of plant invasions can be dramatic, invaders and their impacts may decline over time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Effects of a non‐native grass invasion decline over time

et al. 2017

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“…For example, in the hyperdiverse fynbos biome of South Africa, the removal of invasive A. mearnsii trees from riparian zones, and the subsequent recovery of native plant diversity, helped to recover both alpha and beta arthropod diversity (Maoela et al , 2016). However, as recently shown, pathogen accumulation on a highly invasive grass in the US may also help to significantly reduce the fitness of invasive populations in the future (Stricker et al , 2016). Thus, a combination of using enemies (particularly native pathogens that have undergone host-shifts and agents selected for biological control) and reducing the invasive debt through physical eradication of the trees should be highly complementary approaches to curb the spread of aggressive invaders in South Africa (Wilson et al , 2011).…”

Section: Implications For Biological Control Of Non-native Treesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…using conifers such as Pinus in a landscape where gymnosperms are depauperate, this absence of native pathogens limits product losses. Non-native pathogen catch-up events may reduce invading populations outside of plantations (Mitchell et al , 2006; Flory and Clay 2013; Stricker et al , 2016). But this could be risky to local biodiversity and local ecosystem function given the observed phylogenetic link (relatedness between native and non-native species) to host shifts (Fig.…”

Section: Contrasting Implications Of Ecological Disequilibria For Formentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ecological disequilibrium drives insect pest and pathogen accumulation in non-native trees

Crous¹,

Burgess²,

Roux³

et al. 2016

AoB PLANTS

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Non-native plant invasions represent ecological disequilibrium situations, that is, the immediate breakdown of historically co-evolved interactions once introduced into novel environments. Globalization has led to increased transfer in organisms between countries. Native enemies also undergo host expansions onto non-native plants. Ecological disequilibrium conditions can thus be expected to change unpredictably over time. By retrospectively analysing the insect pest and pathogen accumulation on established non-native trees in South Africa, we review the eco-evolutionary background that may help to explain and predict variation in ecological disequilibrium conditions in non-native trees.

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“…is a widespread invader in the eastern United States (Stricker et al 2016), and predicting its influences on soil biogeochemistry is necessary for managers working to control M.v. to investigate pathways through which environmental conditions mediate invader impacts on soil N cycling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Site conditions are more important than abundance for explaining plant invasion impacts on soil nitrogen cycling

et al. 2018

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Invasive plant species can alter critical ecosystem processes including nitrogen transformations, but it is often difficult to anticipate where in an invaded landscape, these effects will occur. Our predictive ability lags because we lack a framework for understanding the multiple pathways through which environmental conditions mediate invader impacts. Here, we present a framework using structural equation modeling to evaluate the impact of an invasive grass, Microstegium vimineum (M.v.), on nitrogen cycling based on a series of invaded sites that varied in invader biomass and non-M.v. understory biomass, tree basal area, light availability, and soil conditions. Unlike previous studies, we did not find an overall pattern of elevated nitrate concentrations or higher nitrification rates in M.v.-invaded areas. We found that reference plot conditions mediated differences in mineralization between paired invaded and reference plots at each site through indirect (via M.v. biomass), direct, and interactive pathways; however, the strongest pathways were independent of M.v. biomass. For example, sites with low reference soil nitrate and high non-M.v. understory biomass tended to have faster mineralization at 5-15 cm in invaded plots. These findings suggest that more attention to reference conditions is needed to understand the impact of invasive species on soil nitrogen cycling and other ecosystem processes and that the greatest impacts will not necessarily be where the invader is most abundant.

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Emergence and accumulation of novel pathogens suppress an invasive species

Cited by 113 publications

References 41 publications

Effects of a non‐native grass invasion decline over time

Effects of a non‐native grass invasion decline over time

Ecological disequilibrium drives insect pest and pathogen accumulation in non-native trees

Site conditions are more important than abundance for explaining plant invasion impacts on soil nitrogen cycling

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