A common invasive species, Chinese privet, may be exacerbating global climate change
Faculty Mentor(s) Name(s)
Dr. Christine Mutiti
Abstract
Chinese privet, a woody shrub native to southeast Asia, is an invasive species threatening ecosystems in the southeast United States. Studies show that its leaves decompose faster than native species’ leaves. This implies that Chinese privet potentially impacts the carbon cycle through the soil carbon pool. The goal of this study was to determine whether the amount of organic carbon (OC) in soil under heavy Chinese privet invasion differed from that of nearby uninvaded soil. It was hypothesized that invaded soil would have significantly less OC. Soil samples were collected in Milledgeville, GA from a forest site with heavy privet invasion and two nearby uninvaded sites (mixed forest stand and pine forest stand) between 2022 and 2023. Samples were separated into different depths (top 5 cm, middle 5 cm, and bottom 5 cm). Percent organic matter (OM) was analyzed using the loss-on-ignition method (samples ashed at 360oC) and OC calculated as 58% of OM. One-way ANOVA was used to assess whether mean %OC differed significantly between soil depth and between sites. Results showed that there was significantly higher %OC in the uninvaded mixed forest site than the pine and privet-invaded sites. Additionally, %OC decreased significantly with soil depth for all sites. These findings show that under heavy and perhaps prolonged Chinese privet invasion, less carbon is stored in the soil. The implication is that if more carbon ends up in the atmosphere rather than being stored in the soil, uncontrolled invasion could be contributing to the problem of global warming.
Start Date
27-3-2024 11:20 AM
End Date
27-3-2024 11:28 AM
Location
Arts and Sciences 2-70
A common invasive species, Chinese privet, may be exacerbating global climate change
Arts and Sciences 2-70
Chinese privet, a woody shrub native to southeast Asia, is an invasive species threatening ecosystems in the southeast United States. Studies show that its leaves decompose faster than native species’ leaves. This implies that Chinese privet potentially impacts the carbon cycle through the soil carbon pool. The goal of this study was to determine whether the amount of organic carbon (OC) in soil under heavy Chinese privet invasion differed from that of nearby uninvaded soil. It was hypothesized that invaded soil would have significantly less OC. Soil samples were collected in Milledgeville, GA from a forest site with heavy privet invasion and two nearby uninvaded sites (mixed forest stand and pine forest stand) between 2022 and 2023. Samples were separated into different depths (top 5 cm, middle 5 cm, and bottom 5 cm). Percent organic matter (OM) was analyzed using the loss-on-ignition method (samples ashed at 360oC) and OC calculated as 58% of OM. One-way ANOVA was used to assess whether mean %OC differed significantly between soil depth and between sites. Results showed that there was significantly higher %OC in the uninvaded mixed forest site than the pine and privet-invaded sites. Additionally, %OC decreased significantly with soil depth for all sites. These findings show that under heavy and perhaps prolonged Chinese privet invasion, less carbon is stored in the soil. The implication is that if more carbon ends up in the atmosphere rather than being stored in the soil, uncontrolled invasion could be contributing to the problem of global warming.