[en] Invasion by alien plants can alter ecosystem processes and soil properties. In this study, we compared aboveground productivity, nutrient pools in standing biomass and topsoil (0-0.10 m) mineral nutrient concentrations between plots invaded by Early Goldenrod (Solidago gigantea) and adjacent, uninvaded, vegetation at five sites in Belgium. The five sites were characterised by a resident perennial herbaceous vegetation and spanned a wide range in soil fertility level and floristic composition. Invaded stands consistently had higher (2-3-fold) aboveground productivity and lower mineral element concentrations in standing phytomass. Nutrient pools (calculated as concentration x phytomass) was ca. twice higher in invaded plots, suggesting that S. gigantea might enhance nutrient cycling rates. Impacts on topsoil chemistry were surprisingly modest, with slightly higher nutrient concentrations under the invader. A noticeable exception was phosphorus, which showed higher concentrations of ammonium acetate-extractable fraction in invaded plots in four of five sites. It appears that S. gigantea does not significantly contribute to nutrient uplift from deep soil layers to topsoil, possibly because it does not root much deeper compared to resident vegetation.
Allison SD, Vitousek PM (2004) Rapid nutrient cycling in leaf litter from invasive plants in Hawai'i. Oecologia 141:612-619
Belnap J, Philips SL (2001) Soil biota in an ungrazed grassland: response to annual grass (Bromus tectorum) invasion. Ecol Appl 11:1261-1275
Bolton H, Smith JL, Wildung RE (1990) Nitrogen mineralization potentials of shrub-steppe soils with different disturbance histories. Soil Sci Soc Am J 54:887-891
Blank RR, Young JA (2002) Influence of the exotic invasive crucifer, Lepidium latifolium, on soil properties and elemental cycling. Soil Sci 167:821-829
Blank RR, Young JA (2004) Influence of three weed species on soil nutrient dynamics. Soil Sci 169:385-397
Chapin FSI III, Matson PA, Mooney HA (2002) Principles of terrestrial ecosystem ecology. Springer Verlag, New York, pp 436
Chapuis-Lardy L, Vanderhoeven S, Dassonville N, Koutika L-S, Meerts P (in press) Effect of the exotic invasive plant Solidago gigantea on soil phosphorus status. Biol Fert Soils DOI 10.1007/s00374-005-0039-4
Ehrenfeld JG (2003) Effects of exotic plant invasions on soil nutrient cycling processes. Ecosystems 6:503-523
Ehrenfeld JG, Kourtev P, Huang W (2001) Changes in soil functions following invasions of exotic understory plants in deciduous forests. Ecol Appl 11:1287-1300
Ehrenfeld JG, Scott N (2001) Invasive species and the soil: effects on organisms and ecosystem processes. Ecol Appl 11:1259-1260
Grierson PF, Adams MA (2000) Plant species affect acid phosphatase, ergosterol and microbial P in a Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata Donn ex Sm.) forest in southwestern Australia. Soil Biol Biochem 32:1817-1827
Güsewell S, Zuberbühler N, Clerc C (2005) Distribution and functional traits of Solidago gigantea in a Swiss lakeshore wetland. Bot Helv 115:63-75
Hawkes CV, Wren IF, Herman DJ, Firestone MK (2005) Plant invasion alters nitrogen cycling by modifying the soil nitrifying community. Ecol Lett 8:976-985
Hinsinger P (2001) Bioavailability of soil inorganic P in the rhizosphere as affected by root-induced chemical changes: a review. Plant Soil 237:173-195
Hobbie S (1992) Effects of plant species on nutrient cycling. Trends Ecol Evol 7:336-339
Hook PB, Olson BE, Wraith JM (2004) Effects of the invasive forb Centaurea maculosa on grassland carbon and nitrogen pools in Montana, USA. Ecosystems 7:686-694
Jin L, Gu Y, Xiao M, Chen J, Li B (2004) The history of Solidago canadensis invasion and the development of its mycorrhizal associations in newly-reclaimed land. Funct Plant Biol 3:979-986
Jobbagy EG, Jackson RB (2004) The uplift of soil nutrients by plants: biogeochemical consequences across scales. Ecology 85:2380-2389
Kourtev PS, Ehrenfeld JG, Häggblom M (2003) Experimental analysis of the effect of exotic and native plant species on the structure and function of soil microbial communities. Soil Biol Biochem 35:895-905
Kourtev PS, Ehrenfeld JG, Huang WZ (2002) Enzyme activities during litter decomposition of two exotic and two native plant species in hardwood forests of New Jersey. Soil Biol Biochem 34:1207-1218
Lemée G (1967) Investigations sur la minéralisation de l'azote et son évolution annuelle dans les humus forestiers in situ. Oecologia Plantarum 2:285-323
Levine JM, Vilà M, D'Antonio CM, Dukes JS, Grigulis K, Lavorel S (2003) Mechanisms underlying the impacts of exotic plant invasions. P Roy Soc Lond B 270:775-778
McIntosh PD, Loeseke M, Bechler K (1995) Soil Changes under mouse-ear hawkweed (Hieracium pilosella). NZ J Ecol 19(1):29-34
Mitchell RJ, Marrs RH, Le Duc MG, Auld MHD (1997) A study of succession on lowland heaths in Dorset, southern England: changes in vegetation and soil chemical properties. J Appl Ecol 34:1426-1444
Muller S (2000) Les espèces végétales invasives en France: bilan des connaissances et propositions d'action. Revue Ecologie (Terre Vie): Suppl 7
Scott NA, Saggar S, McIntosh PD (2001) Biogeochemical impact of Hieracium invasion in New Zealand's grazed tussock grasslands: sustainability implications. Ecol Appl 11:1311-1322
StatSoft Inc. (2003) Statistica (Data analysis software) version 6. www.statsoft.com
Van Breemen N, Finzi AC (1998) Plant-soil interaction: ecological aspects and evolutionary implications. Biogeochemistry 42:1-19
Vanderhoeven S, Dassonville N, Meerts P (2005) Increased topsoil mineral nutrient concentrations under the canopy of exotic invasive plants in Belgium. Plant Soil 275:167-177
Verloove F (2002) Ingeburgerde plantensoorten in Vlaanderen. Mededeling van het Instituut voor Natuurbehoud nr. 20, Brussels
Vitousek PM (1982) Nutrient cycling and nutrient use efficiency. Am Nat 119:553-572
Wagenitz G (1964) Solidago L. In: Hegi G (ed) Illustrierte flora von Mitteleuropa, vol VI. Carl Hanser, München, pp 16-29
Walker LR, Smith SD (1996) Impacts of invasive plants on community and ecosystem properties. In: Luken JO, Thieret J (eds) Assessment and management of plant invasions. Springer-Verlag, New-York, pp 69-86
Weber E (1998) The dynamics of plant invasions: a case study of three exotic goldenrod species (Solidago L.) in Europe. J Biogeogr 24:147-154
Weber E (2003) Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds. CABI-Publishing, London, pp 548
Weber E, Jakobs G (2005) Biological flora of central Europe: Solidago gigantea Aiton. Flora 200:109-118
Weber E, Schmid B (1998) Latitudinal population differentiation in two species of Solidago (Asteraceae) introduced into Europe. Am J Bot 85:1110-1121
Windham L (2001) Comparison of biomass production and decomposition between Phragmites australis (common red) and Spartina patens (salt hay) in brackish tidal marsh of New Jersey. Wetlands 21:179-188
Zabinski CA, Quinn L, Callaway RM (2002) Phosphorus uptake, not carbon transfer, explains arbuscular mycorrhizal enhancement of Centaurea maculosa in the presence of native grassland species. Funct Ecol 16:758-765