Chinese privet ( Ligustrum sinense Lour.) alters the timing of litterfall and nutrient quality of leaf litter inputs in
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense Lour.) alters the timing of litterfall and nutrient quality of leaf litter inputs in invaded riparian forests Matthew P. Weand
Received: 3 December 2019 / Accepted: 13 August 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract The invasive non-native shrub Chinese privet occupies riparian forests throughout the southeastern US however little is known regarding its ability to impact ecosystem processes. This study aimed to characterize phenological patterns of privet litterfall, litter chemistry, and changes in availability of mobile soil nutrients within riparian zones invaded by privet. Comparisons of native and invaded sites showed that privet invasion alters the timing but not quantity of litter deposition. In contrast to native species, total privet litterfall displayed little seasonal variation however invaded sites had similar total litter mass compared to native sites. Within invaded sites privet litter was 26% of total litterfall in spring. Privet leaf litter was seasonally enriched in nitrogen during winter as compared to fall and spring. Compared to native sites, invaded sites had significantly increased soil nitrate availability and decreased soil carbon:nitrogen ratios. In contrast, dissolved organic matter and dissolved nitrogen in soil solution was lower in invaded compared to native sites. Results suggest that privet enhances litter and inorganic nitrogen availability in ways that have potential to impact decomposer and detritovore communities in the riparian zone and adjacent aquatic systems.
M. P. Weand (&) Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, SC320, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA 30144, USA e-mail: [email protected]
Keywords Chinese privet Litter phenology Nitrogen cycling Riparian zone Invasive species
Introduction From communities to ecosystems invasive plants modify soils, resource availability, and biogeochemical processes (Levine 2000; Ehrenfeld 2003, Vila et al. 2011). Many invasive woody plants possess nutrient-rich tissues that favor rapid decomposition and nutrient mineralization compared to native species tissues (Ehrenfeld 2003, Allison and Vitousek 2004; Ashton et al. 2005). However, changes associated with invasion are often species specific (Jo et al. 2016) as the functional traits and phenological patterns of an invader (e.g. nitrogen-fixation, evergreen or deciduous habit), interact with the habitat’s climate, soils, and other biota. These ecosystem level effects are especially important to understand if they have the potential to alter subsidies to adjacent ecosystems (Leroux and Loreau 2008). Riparian zones, the interface between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, are frequent sites of invasions due to disturbances like floods and because they often serve as corridors of propagule dispersal (Pysek and Prach 1993, Planty-Tabacchi et al. 1996; Hood and Naiman 2000). Within the United States many woody non-native species including Russian oliv
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