Belowground legacies of Pinus contorta invasion and removal result in multiple mechanisms of invasional meltdown

Invasive plants alter plant communities and transform landscapes aboveground, but also have strong belowground effects that are potentially even more important to ecosystem outcomes. In a new study published in AoB PLANTS using management treatments of the widespread invasive tree, Lodgepole Pine, Dickie et al. found that pines and pine removal transform belowground ecosystems, increasing ectomycorrhizal inoculum and driving a change from slow-cycling fungal-dominated soils to fast-cycling bacterial-dominated soils with increased nutrient availability. This results in increased growth of graminoids, particularly exotic grasses, and facilitation of Douglas-fir establishment, hindering ecosystem restoration. The results highlight the importance of considering multiple species interactions in invasion, particularly in terms of belowground legacies.