INFLUENCE OF INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES ON SOIL PROPERTIES IN TROPICAL RIPARIAN ZONES

Riparian zones are highly productive biodiversity-rich transition areas. However, the invasion of exotic plant species depletes diversity and productivity, a severe global environmental concern as they alter ecosystem services. The analysis of spatio-temporal variations of soil nutrients in an invasive plant-impacted riparian zone is significant. This study was conducted in the riparian zones of a tropical river basin, Vamanapuram river basin (VRB), Southern Western Ghats, India, to analyse soil samples (total n= 60) from invaded (VR) and uninvaded (Control) areas for pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Organic Carbon (OC), available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), and available potassium (AK). In general, comparing the invaded and control sites, changes were noticed in almost all the above physico-chemical parameters (except OC) at a significant level with high values in invaded soil sites mainly due to invasion. However, more studies are needed to differentiate the impacts within the system for a better understanding of invasive plant-soil interactions.