Project Title

Testing the effect of Invasive Species Chinese Privet on Soil Carbon Concentration in Milledgeville, Georgia

Faculty Mentor(s) Name(s)

Christine Mutiti

Abstract

The Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense) shrub is native to China but has dispersed globally, making it an invasive species across numerous countries, including in the Southeast United States. While invasive species thrive, the native plants have to fight for their resources. This invasive species is a shrub that can grow up to thirteen feet tall, making it a space and resource competitor against the native species. When Chinese privet is removed from invaded areas, there is an increase in native species again. The presence of Chinese privet is known to impact the cycling of materials such as nitrogen and carbon in an ecosystem. The carbon stored in soil is a major part of the carbon cycle. Disturbances that decrease the amount of soil carbon often displaces that carbon into the atmosphere, affecting the global climate. The research question for this study was whether Chinese privet affects the carbon concentration in soil that it invades. It was hypothesized that soil from areas with heavy Chinese privet invasion would differ significantly from areas not invaded. Soil samples were collected between 2022 and 2023 from three locations: Andalusia Farm, a residential site by Fishing Creek, and Bartram Forest, all located in Milledgeville, GA. At each location, soil was taken in 5 cm depths up to 15 cm deep from heavily invaded sites and nearby uninvaded sites. After air drying, the soil was analyzed for its organic carbon using the loss-on-ignition approach. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the concentration of organic carbon between soil depths and between sites. Preliminary results show that sites with heavy Chinese privet invasion had significantly less organic carbon. This implies that this invasive shrub is potentially contributing to the global warming problem by reducing the soil carbon sequestration capacity.

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Testing the effect of Invasive Species Chinese Privet on Soil Carbon Concentration in Milledgeville, Georgia

The Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense) shrub is native to China but has dispersed globally, making it an invasive species across numerous countries, including in the Southeast United States. While invasive species thrive, the native plants have to fight for their resources. This invasive species is a shrub that can grow up to thirteen feet tall, making it a space and resource competitor against the native species. When Chinese privet is removed from invaded areas, there is an increase in native species again. The presence of Chinese privet is known to impact the cycling of materials such as nitrogen and carbon in an ecosystem. The carbon stored in soil is a major part of the carbon cycle. Disturbances that decrease the amount of soil carbon often displaces that carbon into the atmosphere, affecting the global climate. The research question for this study was whether Chinese privet affects the carbon concentration in soil that it invades. It was hypothesized that soil from areas with heavy Chinese privet invasion would differ significantly from areas not invaded. Soil samples were collected between 2022 and 2023 from three locations: Andalusia Farm, a residential site by Fishing Creek, and Bartram Forest, all located in Milledgeville, GA. At each location, soil was taken in 5 cm depths up to 15 cm deep from heavily invaded sites and nearby uninvaded sites. After air drying, the soil was analyzed for its organic carbon using the loss-on-ignition approach. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the concentration of organic carbon between soil depths and between sites. Preliminary results show that sites with heavy Chinese privet invasion had significantly less organic carbon. This implies that this invasive shrub is potentially contributing to the global warming problem by reducing the soil carbon sequestration capacity.