TITLE:
A Systematic Review of Terrestrial Plant Invasion Mechanisms Mediated by Microbes and Restoration Implications
AUTHORS:
K. Dawkins, J. Mendonca, O. Sutherland, N. Esiobu
KEYWORDS:
Invasive Plant, Biotic Resistance, Biocontrol Agents, Enemy Release, Restoration
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.13 No.2,
February
22,
2022
ABSTRACT: Terrestrial invasive plant species continue to wreak
havoc on a global economic and ecological scale. With the advent of climate
change and pending future catastrophes, the spread of resilient invasive plants
will only increase exponentially. Here, the search continues for a better
understanding of the below-ground microbially driven mechanisms involved in
plant invasion where other above-ground mechanisms have been exhausted.
Microbes govern the world around us and interact with every living and
non-living facet of the world. To reinforce the important underpinnings of the
role of microorganisms in plant invasion, a systematic review of recently
published articles was undertaken. Using the ScienceDirect database, five (5)
search queries were used to generate 1221 research articles. After a two-step
reduction was made based on relevance of the articles, a final total of 59
articles were retrieved. An additional 18 relevant articles were also assessed
through the PubMed database for analysis to account
for other invasive plants. Thirty-seven (37) invasive species were
investigated where soil physiochemical and microbial community structure
changes were most prevalent (32% & 39% respectively) while enhanced
mutualism, allelopathy and pathogen accumulation were reported less (16%, 10%
& 3% respectively). In all invasive species assessed, the impact on plant
invasion and inability of the native plants to compete was due to specific
microbial associations of the invasive plant or disruption of the soil
microbial community. This microbial community shift coincided with changes in
physiochemical properties of the soil and the subsequent negative soil feedback
for native plants. There is still an expanding potential for the use of
biocontrol agents to aid restoration once the underpinnings of biotic
resistance and enemy release are understood in a microbial and physiochemical
context. The active and functional microbial community structure of the
invasive plant rhizosphere and adjacent soil in its native and non-native
region can offer a better inference of how they can be controlled using
novel-below ground biocontrol methods.