Scholarly record
PLANT INVASION ALTER ACTIVITY OF SOIL MICROBIAL COMMUNITY IN FOREST AND GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEMS OF EASTERN SLOVAKIA
Abstract
Owing to the increasing influence of humans, many species have invaded and continue to invade new regions at an unprecedented rate, exerting strong impacts on ecosystems and human welfare. Invasive species are a major threat to community composition and ecosystem processes worldwide and a major aim in ecology is their identification of invasiveness and their direct and indirect impact on biodiversity of ecosystems. Recent studies on invasive species have revealed a wide variety of their impact on soil systems, native plants and soil organisms, including microbial population and its composition and function in the ecosystem. Soil microbial community is an important and very sensitive component of ecosystem response to environmental changes, yet is little know about how microbial activity, structure and function respond to environmental disturbances. The study assessed the effect of Heracleum mantegazzianum, Helianthus tuberosus, Solidago gigantea and Fallopia japonica invading eastern sites of Slovakia on soil microbial indices. Obtained data were compared with non-invaded adjacent sites. Microbial properties such as soil enzyme activities (urease, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, FDA and beta-glucosidase) were determined. Additionally, soil organic carbon and soil reaction were also performed. All plant species showed similar values of microbial properties. Activity of soil microbial community differed between soils under invasive species and those under native plants. In contrast, invaders did not significantly change the rate of soil organic carbon that is relatively stable soil parameter and soil reaction showed higher values compared to the sites under non-invaded species. Microbial parameter that was most effected by invasive species was acid and alkaline phosphatase that may be also explained by soil reaction changes as phosphatases are very sensitive to soil pH variations. There are several studies focusing on soil biological activity of invasive species and assessing their global impact on ecosystems. Some papers confirm the negative influence on activity and composition of microbial community, the others state that microbial community is unaltered by plant invasion. Therefore, the reaching of general conclusion is vague and there is more need for detailed explanation of processes in the soil ecosystems.
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