Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Responses Of Non-Native Earthworms To Experimental Eradication Of Garlic Mustard And Implications For Native Vegetation, Kristina A. Stinson, S. D. Frey, M. R. Jackson, E. Coates-Connor, M. Anthony, K. Martinez

Environmental Conservation Faculty Publication Series

Recent studies in invasion biology suggest that positive feedback among two or more introduced organisms facilitate establishment within a new range and drive changes in native plant communities. Here, we experimentally tested for relationships between native plants and two non‐native organisms invading forest habitats in North America: garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata, Brassicaceae) and earthworms. In two forested sites, we compared understory vegetation and earthworm biomass in plots where garlic mustard was removed for three years, plots without garlic mustard invasion, and plots invaded by garlic mustard that was not removed. Earthworm biomass was highest in the plots with …