Plant invasion down under: exploring the below-ground impact of invasive plant species on soil properties and invertebrate communities in the Central Plateau of New Zealand

Abstract

The impacts of invasive plants on arthropod communities are often reported to be negative and have predominantly been explored aboveground, but there is a paucity of information regarding what happens belowground. To address this gap, we compared soil properties and soil fauna communities associated with two native plant species (Leptospermum scoparium—mānuka and Chionochloa rubra—red tussock) and two invasive species (non-N-fixing Calluna vulgaris—European heather and N-fixing Cytisus scoparius—Scotch broom) in the Central Plateau of New Zealand. We expected that (1) at individual plant level soil properties would be different under invasive and native plant species, with higher soil nutrient concentrations under invasive species, especially N-fixing broom; (2) total abundance of soil fauna would be higher under invasive plant species, as generally positive impact of invasive plants on soil invertebrates is indicated in the literature; (3) invasive plants, and especially N-fixing broom, will be associated with greater abundances of soil decomposer groups. We found that soil properties and soil fauna assemblages did not cluster by plant invasive status as initially predicted. At individual plant level, there was similarity in soil conditions between mānuka and broom, and between red tussock and heather. The invasive N-fixer (broom) had positive effects on soil N availability, with higher N pool and lower C/N ratio in soil under this species. There were no consistent differences in total soil fauna abundance between invasive and native plants. Broom and mānuka were associated with higher abundances of Collembola, Oligochaeta and Diplopoda; heather and red tussock had higher abundances of Hymenoptera and Hemiptera. Significantly more Oligochaeta and Collembola under broom matched the prediction of invasive plants (and especially N-fixing invasives) being associated with greater abundances of decomposers. However, another important decomposer group—oribatid mites—did not show the same tendency. These results evidence that simplified generalizations regarding the impacts of invasive plants are unlikely to be justified, since the ecological effects of plant invasions are complex and do not always follow the same pattern. Therefore, we need to take into consideration the ecological context and the traits of individual plant species and target organisms in an unbiased manner to fully understand the impacts of plant invasions.