Plant invasion shifts soil microbiome and nutrient pools along
altitudinal gradients
Abstract
Soil microbial communities, being at the interface of plant-soil
feedback systems, can play a pivotal role in facilitating ecosystem
response to the drivers of global environmental change, including
invasive alien species (IAS). Studies evaluating the effect of plant
invasion on soil microbial communities along altitudinal gradients can
provide novel insights regarding the spread and impact of IAS and
elevational range shifts in response to ongoing climate warming in
mountains. In this study, we used metagenomic tools to investigate the
impact of invasive Leucanthemum vulgare on taxonomic composition,
relative abundance, alpha and beta diversity of soil microbial
(bacterial and fungal) community, physicochemical properties and their
interaction between invaded and uninvaded plots selected across multiple
sites along an altitudinal gradient in Kashmir Himalaya. We found that
the invasion by L. vulgare shifted composition, relative abundance,
alpha and beta diversity of soil microbiome significantly in invaded
plots. The relative abundance of soil microbial communities
interestingly showed an increasing trend along the altitudinal gradient.
The soil physicochemical properties were significantly correlated with
microbial community abundance with temperature, K, pH, EC and Fe being
the dominant determinants. Also, we found a significant effect of soil
physicochemical properties on the microbial community abundance along
the altitudinal gradient. Our findings unravel the plant
invasion-induced shifts in the underground soil microbiome and
physicochemical properties, which improve our understanding of plant
invasion impacts on belowground biotic and abiotic components and can
contribute in guiding integrated management of invaded mountain
landscapes globally.