Long-Term Giant Hogweed Invasion Contributes to the Structural Changes of Soil Nematofauna

Abstract

Heracleum mantegazzianum (giant hogweed) is the largest central European forb, naturalized or invasive in many European countries. The impacts of its colonization of native habitats on soil mesofauna groups are unfortunately obscure. This study assessed the effect of giant hogweed invasion on the communities of plants and soil nematodes in the riparian habitat. We found that invasion by H. mantegazzianum increased soil pH, decreased carbon and nitrogen content, reduced the number and coverage of the native plant species, and influenced nematode communities and their structures. Nematode species number was significantly lower in invaded than uninvaded plots, but nematode species diversity was not affected by invasion throughout the whole study. Total nematode abundance slightly increased under giant hogweed, while total nematode biomass did not differ between the invaded and uninvaded plots. The higher abundance of bacterivores and fungivores but lower number of omnivorous nematodes well represented the negative impact of giant hogweed invasion on soil food webs, supported by low values of all maturity indices or channel index. The hogweed invaded plots contained higher abundance of plant parasitic nematodes, mainly Paratylenchus microdorus. Our results thus indicate that invasion by H. mantegazzianum influences several nematode communities’ parameters while others remain unaffected by invasion.

Invasion of the Giant Hogweed and the Sosnowsky’s Hogweed as a Multidisciplinary Problem with Unknown Future—A Review

“…Renčo, Jurová, Gömöryová and Čerevková, 2021 [186] Soil yeast communities Under H. sosnowskyi were less ascomycetes Candida vartiovaarae, Wickerhamomyces anomalus, although more yeast-like fungi with high hydrolytic activity:…”

“…Near H. sosnowskyi in an abandoned land and road-side slope were more bacterivorous, fewer fungivores, and plant parasites belonging to nematodes [184]. This type of research has been continued for many years, bringing new information to applied science [186,187].…”

Invasive Alien Plant Species—Raising Awareness of a Threat to Biodiversity and Ecological Connectivity (EC) in the Adriatic-Ionian Region

“…Although the main competitive characteristic of giant hogweed is to shade lower-growing species, Jandová et al [158] also pointed out that plants of this species can also release allelochemicals into the soil through their root system. It can also be assumed that these compounds are toxic to nematodes and other soil organisms [12]. Renčo et al [12] reported that the average number of nematode species at infested sites was up to 20% lower than the diversity of nematode species at uninfested sites.…”

“…It can also be assumed that these compounds are toxic to nematodes and other soil organisms [12]. Renčo et al [12] reported that the average number of nematode species at infested sites was up to 20% lower than the diversity of nematode species at uninfested sites. The same authors also found that giant hogweed invasion increased soil pH from 6.23 to 7.20 and decreased soil carbon and nitrogen content by 24% and 31%, respectively, on riverbanks in the eastern part of Slovakia.…”

“…Biological invasions by alien plant species are among the main causes of biodiversity loss, as the presence of invaders leads to the displacement of native vegetation and can have negative impacts on the soil environment and associated fauna taxa [9][10][11][12]. In addition to alien invasive trees and herbaceous species with an annual life cycle, there is much evidence that the occurrence of perennial herbaceous species with high invasive potential has increased in the Adriatic-Ionian region in the last two decades [13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”