Dissertation Research: Plant-soil feedback and invasive stiltgrass: Studying the black box of the feedback loop

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Invasive plants cause substantial environmental and economic harm, worldwide. Even when an invasive plant species can be successfully removed from a site, it is very difficult to prevent re-invasion or colonization by other invasive species. Such ?legacy effects? of invasive plants are thought to arise from the way in which those plants change microbes in the soil responsible for nutrients, diseases, and other factors that determine which plants can grow in a given area. This study will examine how an invasive grass, Japanese stiltgrass, may affect soil microbes and increase the intensity of forest fires in the eastern North America. One focus will be on a group of bacteria responsible for making nitrogen (in the form of nitrate) available in a way that benefits stiltgrass over native grass species. Another focus will be on how stiltgrass invasion results in hotter fires, which in turn may impact soil bacteria differently than fires in areas without stiltgrass. By revealing how invasive species change soil microbes and fire intensity, this study will assist land managers in developing effective strategies for control of stiltgrass and similar invasive species. Results will be distributed to local land managers via a pamphlet created for the Department of Parks and Recreation. In collaboration with a local high school teacher, the project is also creating materials on invasive plants for the high school biology curriculum. Additionally, material on invasive plants and soil microbes will be distributed as part of Bloomington, Indiana's ?Naturalist at Market? program.