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Impacts of T amarix ‐mediated soil changes on restoration plant growth
Author(s) -
Lehnhoff Erik A.,
Menalled Fabian D.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
applied vegetation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.096
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1654-109X
pISSN - 1402-2001
DOI - 10.1111/avsc.12011
Subject(s) - soil water , seedling , biomass (ecology) , biology , shoot , germination , greenhouse , inoculation , agronomy , plant growth , horticulture , botany , ecology
Question Do soils impacted by T amarix spp. affect the growth of plants used for restoration through altered soil chemistry and/or plant‐soil feedbacks? Location The B ighorn R iver, the Y ellowstone R iver and the F ort P eck R eservoir, M ontana, western USA . Methods Soil was collected from paired subsites where T amarix was either present or absent along three water bodies. To evaluate chemical and biological soil effects on plant growth, eight plant species ( A chnatherum hymenoides , A stragalus cicer , D alea candida , E lymus lanceolatus , L eymus cinereus , P ascopyrum smithii , R atibida columnifera and T rifolium pratense ) commonly used in restoration projects at T amarix ‐invaded sites were grown in the collected soil. Plant‐soil feedbacks were evaluated by growing two species ( D . candida and P . smithii ) in greenhouse soils inoculated with small amounts of the field soils. Germination, emergence and growth characteristics were compared between T amarix ‐invaded and un‐invaded subsites and across water bodies. Results Seedling emergence and plant relative growth rate, total biomass production and allocation of resources to roots and shoots were not negatively affected in field soils or in greenhouse soil inoculated with soil from areas where T amarix was present. In fact, overall, plants emerged earlier and produced more biomass in soils affected by T amarix than in soils from where T amarix was not present. These results indicate that for sites in the northern range of T amarix , restoration would not be inhibited by T amarix ‐induced soil changes. Conclusions T amarix is a relatively new invader in the northern USA , and little is known about its impacts in this area or the potential implications for restoration. However, our results indicate that neither altered soil chemistry nor plant‐soil feedbacks negatively impact native plant growth, and restoration efforts would not be hindered by T amarix ‐induced changes to soil chemistry or microbiota.