地上生态学过程在外来植物入侵过程中的作用与机理已经在前人研究中得到了大量论证，然而对于地下生态学过程与外来植物入侵的关系研究较少，这尤其体现在水生植物入侵生态学领域。本项目选取芦苇这一入侵北美大陆的恶性水生杂草为研究对象，依托世界性芦苇同质种植园，以植物地下部分功能性状，根际土壤微生物多样性及植物地下部分功能性状与根际土壤微生物多样性的相互关系为切入点，运用比较生态学、生理生态学以及地下生态学等实验技术和研究手段，研究芦苇的北美入侵类群相较于其原产地类群（欧洲类群和中国类群）及北美乡土类群所具有的差异与优势，探索地下生态学过程对芦苇入侵性的影响及机理，以期更深入地阐释外来水生植物的入侵机制。本研究对丰富和发展入侵生态学理论具有重要意义，有助于增进我们对外来植物入侵过程中伴随的“不可见的”地下生态学过程的理解，并可为外来入侵植物的防治和管控提供理论支撑。

Previous studies on invasion ecology of exotic plants concerned more on the effects of aboveground ecological process on the invasion of exotic plants and relevant mechanisms. However, few former researches focused on the correlation between the underground ecological process and the invasion of exotic plants, especially for the field of invasion ecology of exotic aquatic plants. The present study selects an noxious exotic aquatic weed invading North America - Phragmites australis as model plant, the worldwide common garden of P. australis as research base, and the plant functional traits of belowground part, the biodiversity of rhizosphere microbe and the interaction of plant functional traits of belowground part and the biodiversity of rhizosphere microbe as entry points, and uses the methods of comparative ecology, physiological ecology and underground ecology to explore the differences between the invasive populations of North America, and the populations of their source (European populations and Chinese populations) and the native populations of North America. Following this study, we try to find out the competitive advantage of the invasive populations of North America, explore the effects and mechanisms of underground ecological process on the invasiveness of P. australis, and explain the invasion mechanism of exotic aquatic plants in depth. The present study is significant for enriching and developing the theory of invasion ecology, and promoting our understanding for the “invisible” underground ecological process involved in the invasion process of exotic plants. Simultaneously, the present study can provide theoretical support for the management and control of exotic invasive plants.