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Plant-induced changes in soil nutrient dynamics by native and invasive grass species

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Abstract

Alteration of soil nutrient dynamics has recently garnered more attention as both a cause and an effect of plant invasion. This project examines how nutrient dynamics are affected by native (Elymus elymoides, Pseudoroegneria spicata, and Vulpia microstachys) and invasive (Aegilops triuncialis, Agropyron cristatum, Bromus tectorum, and Taeniatherum caput-medusae) grass species. This research questions whether natives and invasives differ in their effects on nutrient dynamics. A greenhouse study was conducted using two field-collected soils. Effects on nutrient dynamics were compared using an integrated index that evaluates the total nutrients in soil and in plant tissue compared to an unplanted control. With this index, we evaluated whether soil nutrients increased or decreased as a result of plant growth, controlling for plant uptake. We found no consistent support for our hypothesis that invasive grass species as a group influence nutrient dynamics differently than native grass species as a group. Our results indicate species-specific effects on nutrient dynamics. Alteration of nutrient dynamics is not a trait shared by all of the invasive grass species in our study. However, alteration of nutrient dynamics may be a mechanism by which some individual species increase their invasive potential.

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Acknowledgements

Thank you to Scot Ferguson for help in the lab and greenhouse. This manuscript benefited from the advice and comments of anonymous reviewers. This research was supported in part by the U. S. Department of Energy through contract DE-AC07-06ID14680 to SM Stoller Corporation and the Nevada Agricultural Research Station.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV, 89557, USA

    Lora B. Perkins, Dale W. Johnson & Robert S. Nowak

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  1. Lora B. Perkins
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  2. Dale W. Johnson
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  3. Robert S. Nowak
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Correspondence to Lora B. Perkins.

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Perkins, L.B., Johnson, D.W. & Nowak, R.S. Plant-induced changes in soil nutrient dynamics by native and invasive grass species. Plant Soil 345, 365–374 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0788-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0788-9

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