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Isolation, Behavioral Identification, and Pathogenicity Assessment of Entomopathogenic Fungi from a Forest Wood Borer

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Published on: September 29, 2023

Earthworm invasion as the driving force behind plant invasion and community change in northeastern North American

Victoria A Nuzzo¹, John C Maerz, Bernd Blossey

¹Natural Area Consultants, Richford, NY 13835, USA.

Conservation Biology : the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology

|February 25, 2009

Summary

Non-native earthworms, not invasive plants, are driving native plant declines in northeastern forests. Earthworm invasions negatively impact native plants and facilitate further plant invasions, suggesting current management strategies may be insufficient.

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A Method for Quantifying Foliage-Dwelling Arthropods

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Published on: October 20, 2019

Area of Science:

Ecology
Invasive Species Biology
Forest Ecology

Background:

Understanding drivers of native plant decline is crucial for effective conservation and management.
Introduced species are often implicated in native plant community shifts, but direct evidence is frequently limited.

Purpose of the Study:

To assess the impact of non-native plant and earthworm invasions on native plant communities in northeastern United States forests.
To determine whether non-native plants or earthworms are the primary drivers of changes in native vegetation.

Main Methods:

Measured native vegetation cover, non-native earthworm biomass, and leaf-litter volume across 15 northeastern forests.
Compared these metrics in areas with and without three specific invasive plant species: Microstegium vimineum, Alliaria petiolata, and Berberis thunbergii.

Main Results:

Non-native plant cover correlated positively with native plant cover and earthworm biomass.
Earthworm biomass showed a negative association with native woody and herbaceous plant cover and litter volume.
Graminoid cover was positively associated with both earthworm biomass and non-native plant cover, indicating earthworms may facilitate plant invasions.

Conclusions:

Earthworm invasion, rather than non-native plant invasion, appears to be the primary driver of native plant community changes in northeastern forests.
Earthworm invasions contribute to native species decline and facilitate further plant invasions.
Management strategies focusing solely on invasive plants may be inadequate for protecting northeastern forest understory species.