Invasive earthworms can change understory plant community traits and reduce plant functional diversity

Abstract

Among the most important impacts of biological invasions on biodiversity is biotic homogenization, which may further compromise key ecosystem processes. However, the extent to which they homogenize functional diversity and shift dominant ecological strategies of invaded communities remains uncertain. Here, we investigated changes in plant communities in a northern North American forest in response to invasive earthworms, by examining the taxonomic and functional diversity of the plant community and soil ecosystem functions. We found that although plant taxonomic diversity did not change in response to invasive earthworms, they modified the dominance structure of plant functional groups. Invasive earthworms promoted the dominance of fast-growing plants at the expense of slow-growing ones. Moreover, earthworms decreased plant functional diversity, which coincided with changes in abiotic and biotic soil properties. Our study reveals that invasive earthworms erode multiple biodiversity facets of invaded forests, with potential cascading effects on ecosystem functioning.

Keywords: Ecology; Plant ecology; Soil ecology; Zoology.