Invasion by Cordgrass Increases Microbial Diversity and Alters Community Composition in a Mangrove Nature Reserve.

ABSTRACT: Invasion by exotic plant species can alter ecosystem function and reduce native plant diversity, but relatively little is known about their effects on belowground microbial communities. Here we investigated the effects of exotic cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) invasion on the distribution of soil bacterial communities in a mangrove nature reserve of the Jiulong River Estuary, southeast China using high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene and multivariate statistical analysis. Our results showed that S. alterniflora invasion altered soil properties, and significantly increased soil bacterial taxa richness, primarily by stimulating an increase in conditionally rare or rare taxa, and changes in community composition and function. Abundant, conditionally rare and rare subcom

SUBMITTER: Liu M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5737034 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature