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Plant invasion alters the physico-chemical dynamics of soil
system: insights from invasive Leucanthemum vulgare
in the Indian Himalaya
Rameez Ahmad &Anzar A. Khuroo &
Maroof Hamid &Irfan Rashid
Received: 25 December 2018 / Accepted: 24 July 2019
#Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Abstract Understanding the impact of plant invasions
on the terrestrial ecosystems, particularly below-ground
soil system dynamics can be vital for successful man-
agement and restoration of invaded landscapes. Here,
we report the impacts of a global plant invader,
Leucanthemum vulgare Lam. (ox-eye daisy), on the
key physico-chemical soil properties across four sites
selected along an altitudinal gradient (1600–2550 m) in
Kashmir Himalaya, India. At each site, two types of
spatially separated but environmentally similar sam-
pling plots: invaded (IN) and uninvaded (UN) were
selected for soil sampling. The results revealed that
invasion by L. vulgare had a significant impact on key
soil properties in the IN plots. The soil pH, water con-
tent, organic carbon and total nitrogen were significantly
higher in the IN plots as compared with the UN plots. In
contrast, the electrical conductivity, phosphorous and
micronutrients, viz. iron, copper, manganese and zinc,
were significantly lower in the IN plots as compared
with the UN plots. These changes in the soil system
dynamics associated with L. vulgare invasion were con-
sistent across all the sites. Also, among the sites, soil
properties of low-altitude site (1600 m) were different
from the rest of the sampling sites. Overall, the results of
the present study indicate that L. vulgare,byalteringkey
properties of the soil system, is likely to influence nutri-
ent cycling processes and facilitates positive feedback
for itself. Furthermore, the research insights from this
study have wide management implications in the effec-
tive ecological restoration of the invaded landscapes.
Keywords Impact .Invasion .Leucanthemum vulgare .
Management .Soil properties
Introduction
Biological invasion by alien species represents one of
the major drivers of global environmental change and
the second largest threat to biodiversity after habitat loss
(Simberloff et al. 2013). The invasive alien species are
believed to have significant impacts on both ecosystem
structure and functioning, including reduction in native
species diversity, modification of soil nutrient pools and
fluxes, and alteration of ecosystem productivity (Liao
et al. 2008;Pyšek et al. 2012;Barneyetal.2015; Tekiela
and Barney 2017). Although the list of ecological im-
pacts from invasive species is too long, most of the
research studies have previously focussed on the impact
of invasive species on diversity and dynamics of above-
ground terrestrial plant communities (Levine et al. 2003;
Shabbir and Bajwa 2006; Hejda and Pyšek 2006; Hejda
et al. 2009; Reshi et al. 2008; Meffin et al. 2010).
However, more recently, the impact of invasive species
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7683-x
This article is part of the Topical Collection on Terrestrial and
Ocean Dynamics: India Perspective
R. Ahmad (*):A. A. Khuroo :M. Hamid
Centre for Biodiversity & Taxonomy, Department of Botany,
University of Kashmir, J & K, Srinagar 190006, India
e-mail: rameezkhuroo929@gmail.com
I. Rashid
Biological Invasions Laboratory, Department of Botany,
University of Kashmir, J & K, Srinagar 190006, India
Environ Monit Assess (2019) 191(Suppl 3): 792
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