Invasive plants and their root traits are linked to the homogenization of soil microbial communities across the United States

dc.citation.articleNumbere2418632121en_US
dc.citation.issueNumber44en_US
dc.citation.journalTitleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesen_US
dc.citation.volumeNumber121en_US
dc.contributor.authorNunez-Mir, Gabriela C.en_US
dc.contributor.authorMcCary, Matthew A.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-11-20T15:52:05Zen_US
dc.date.available2024-11-20T15:52:05Zen_US
dc.date.issued2024en_US
dc.description.abstractAlthough the impacts of invasive plants on soil ecosystems are widespread, the role and impacts of invader root traits in structuring microbial communities remain poorly understood. Here, we present a macroecological study investigating how plant invaders and their root traits affect soil microbial communities, spanning data from 377 unique plots across the United States sampled multiple times, totaling 632 sampling events and 94 invasive plant species. We found that native and invasive plants harbor different root traits on average, with invasive plants possessing higher specific root lengths and native plants having higher root tissue density. We also show that soil microbial communities experiencing heavy plant invasions were more similar to each other in composition across ecosystem types and geographical regions than plots with higher proportions of native plants, which displayed highly variable microbial communities across the continent. Root traits of invasive plants in highly invaded plots explained two times more variation in microbial composition than native plants. This work represents an important step toward understanding macroscale and cross-scale patterns of the relationship between plant invasions, root traits, and soil microbial composition. Our findings provide insights into how invasive plants may impact ecosystem functioning at the macroscale via their homogenizing influence on microbial communities.en_US
dc.identifier.citationNunez-Mir, G. C., & McCary, M. A. (2024). Invasive plants and their root traits are linked to the homogenization of soil microbial communities across the United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(44), e2418632121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2418632121en_US
dc.identifier.digitalnunez-mir-mccary-2024en_US
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2418632121en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/118057en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherNational Academy of Sciencesen_US
dc.rightsExcept where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the terms of the license or beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en_US
dc.titleInvasive plants and their root traits are linked to the homogenization of soil microbial communities across the United Statesen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.type.dcmiTexten_US
dc.type.publicationpublisher versionen_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
nunez-mir-mccary-2024.pdf
Size:
1.96 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format