Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-wq484 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-29T14:13:03.366Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Acacia invasion differentially impacts soil properties of two contrasting tropical lowland forests in Brunei Darussalam

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2022

Salwana Md. Jaafar ,
Faizah Metali  and
Rahayu Sukmaria Sukri Open the ORCID record for Rahayu Sukmaria Sukri [Opens in a new window]
Salwana Md. Jaafar
Affiliation:
Environmental and Life Sciences Programme, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jln Tungku Link, BE 1410, Brunei Darussalam Institute for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jln Tungku Link, BE 1410, Brunei Darussalam
Faizah Metali
Affiliation:
Environmental and Life Sciences Programme, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jln Tungku Link, BE 1410, Brunei Darussalam
Rahayu Sukmaria Sukri*
Affiliation:
Institute for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jln Tungku Link, BE 1410, Brunei Darussalam
*
Author for correspondence: Rahayu Sukmaria Sukri, Email: rahayu.sukri@ubd.edu.bn
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Invasive Acacia species are known to modify soil properties, although effects are often site-specific. We examined the impact of Acacia species on the soils of intact and invaded habitats of two contrasting tropical lowland rain forest types in Brunei Darussalam: heath forest (HF) and mixed dipterocarp forest (MDF). Impacts on soil properties differed between the two forest types. Overall, Acacia-invaded HF soil recorded significantly higher gravimetric water content, pH and total P, K and Ca compared to the intact HF soil. In contrast, invaded MDF soil exhibited significantly higher organic matter content and total soil N, P, K and Mg compared to its intact habitat. Acacia-invaded MDF soils were more nutrient-enriched than Acacia-invaded HF soils by the addition of threefold, threefold and fourfold total soil P, K and Mg, respectively. The positive effect of addition of total soil Ca was, however, fourfold greater in HF soil than MDF soil, indicating that the magnitude of impact on soil properties was strongly site-specific. Overall, Acacia invasion significantly impacted soil properties in nutrient-rich MDF more than those of nutrient-poor HFs, indicating a potential vulnerability of MDFs to invasion.

Keywords

AcaciaBorneoedaphic propertiesexotic plantsheath forestsinvasive speciesKerangas forestsmixed dipterocarp forests
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 38 , Issue 5 , September 2022 , pp. 259 - 266
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, SE, Grimshaw, HM, Parkinson, JA and Quarmby, C (1989) Chemical Analysis of Ecological Materials. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.Google Scholar
Ampitan, TA, Ampitan, AA, Muhammad, SA and Ibrahim, AO (2021) Effect of litter mineralisation on soil under Acacia senegal (Wild L) plantation in the semi-arid zone of Nigeria. Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management 14, 74–83.Google Scholar
Ashton, PS, Kamariah, AS and Idris, MS (2003) A field guide to the forest and trees of Brunei Darussalam and The Northeast Borneo Hotspot, Vol. 1. Bandar Seri Begawan: Universiti Brunei Darussalam.Google Scholar
Becker, P (1992) Seasonality of rainfall and drought in Brunei Darussalam. Brunei Museum Journal 7, 99–109.Google Scholar
Castro-Díez, P, Godoy, O, Alonso, A, Gallardo, A and Saldaña, A (2014) What explains variation in the impacts of exotic plant invasions on the nitrogen cycle? A meta-analysis. Ecology Letters 17, 1–12.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dassonville, N, Vandrhoeven, S, Vanparys, V, Hayez, M, Gruber, W and Meerts, P (2008) Impacts of alien invasive plants on soil nutrients are correlated with initial site conditions in NW Europe. Oecologia 157, 131–140.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davies, SJ and Becker, P (1996) Floristic composition and stand structure of mixed dipterocarp and heath forests in Brunei Darussalam. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 8, 542–569.Google Scholar
Dent, DH, Bagchi, R, Robinson, D, Majalap-Lee, N and Burslem, DFRP (2006) Nutrient fluxes via litterfall and leaf litter decomposition vary across a gradient of soil nutrient supply in lowland tropical rain forest. Plant and Soil 288, 197–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Din, H, Metali, F and Sukri, RS (2015) Tree diversity and community composition of the Tutong white sands, Brunei Darussalam: a rare tropical heath forest ecosystem. International Journal of Ecology. doi: 10.1155/2015/807876.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ehrenfeld, JG (2003) Effects of exotic plant invasions on soil nutrient cycling processes. Ecosystems 6, 503–523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huong, VD, Nambiar, ES, Quang, LT, Mendham, DS and Dung, PT (2015) Improving productivity and sustainability of successive rotations of Acacia auriculiformis plantations in South Vietnam. Southern Forest 77, 51–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ibrahim, MH, Sukri, RS, Tennakoon, KU, Le, QV and Metali, F (2021) Photosynthetic responses of Acacia mangium and co-existing native heath forest species to elevated temperature and CO2 concentrations. Journal of Sustainable Forestry 40, 573–593.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inagaki, M, Kamo, K, Miyamoto, K, Titin, J, Jamalung, L, Lapongan, J and Miura, S (2011) Nitrogen and phosphorous retranslocation and N:P ratios of litterfall in three tropical plantations: luxurious N and efficient P use by Acacia mangium. Plant and Soil 341, 295–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ismail, NAN and Metali, F (2014) Allelopathic effects of invasive Acacia mangium germination and growth of local paddy varieties. Journal of Agronomy 13, 158–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jaafar, S (2020) Investigating the effects of invasive Acacia species on the nutrient cycling of Brunei’s tropical lowland rain forests. PhD Thesis Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam.Google Scholar
Jaafar, S, Sukri, RS and Procheş, Ş (2016) An investigation of soil physico-chemical variables across different lowland forest ecosystems of Brunei Darussalam. Malaysian Journal of Science 35, 148–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jambul, R, Limin, A, Ali, AN and Slik, F (2020) Invasive Acacia mangium dominance as an indicator for heath forest disturbance. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators 8. doi: 10.1016/j.indic.2020.100059.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jeddi, K and Chaieb, M (2012) Restoring degraded arid Mediterranean areas with exotic tree species: influence of an age sequence of Acacia salicina on soil and vegetation dynamics. Flora-Morphology Distribution Functional Ecology of Plants 207, 693–700.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keet, JH, Ellis, AG, Hui, C, Novoa, A and Le Roux, JJ (2021) Impacts of invasive Australian Acacias on soil bacterial community composition, microbial enzymatic activities, and nutrient availability in Fynbos Soils. Microbial Ecology. doi: 10.1007/s00248-021-01683-1 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kourtev, PS, Ehrenfeld, JG and Haggblom, M (2003) Experimental analysis of the effect of exotic and native plant species on the structure and function of soil microbial communities. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 35, 895–905.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koutika, L, Epron, D, Bouillet, K and Mareschal, L (2014) Changes in N and C concentrations, soil acidity and P availability in tropical mixed Acacia and Eucalypt plantations on a nutrient poor sandy soil. Plant and Soil 379, 205–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koutika, LS and Richardson, DM (2019) Acacia mangium Willd: benefits and threats associated with its increasing use around the world. Forest Ecosystems 6, 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Le Maitre, DC, Gaertner, M, Marchante, E, Ens, EJ, Holmes, PM, Pauchard, A, O’Farrell, PJ, Rogers, AM, Blanchard, R, Blignaut, J and Richardson, DM (2011) Impacts of invasive Australian Acacias: implications for management and restoration. Diversity and Distributions 17, 1015–1029.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Le, QV, Tennakoon, KU, Metali, F and Sukri, RS (2018) Photosynthesis in co-occurring invasive Acacia spp. and native Bornean Heath forest trees at the post-establishment invasion stage. Journal of Sustainable Forestry 38, 230–243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lenth, RV (2018) Least-squares means: the R package lsmeans. Journal of Statistical Software 69, 1–33.Google Scholar
Li, Z, Peng, S, Rae, DJ and Zhou, G (2001) Litter decomposition and nitrogen mineralization of soils in subtropical plantation forests of southern China, with special attention to comparisons between legumes and non-legumes. Plant and Soil 229, 105–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liao, CZ, Peng, RH, Luo, YQ, Zhou, XH, Wu, XW and Fang, CM (2008) Altered ecosystem carbon and nitrogen cycles by plant invasion: a meta-analysis. New Phytologist 177, 706–714.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lindsay, EA and French, K (2005) Litterfall and nitrogen cycling following invasion by Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. rotundata in coastal Australia. Journal of Applied Ecology 42, 556–566.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lorenzo, P, Pereira, CS and Rodríguez-Echeverría, S (2013) Differential impact on soil microbes of allelopathic compounds released by the invasive Acacia dealbata Link. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 57, 156–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Majalap, N (2000) Does Acacia mangium improve soils in Sabah? Proceedings of the 15th SITE Seminar - Exotics: Potentials, Issues & Challenges; Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.Google Scholar
Marchante, E, Kjoller, A, Struwe, S and Freitas, H (2009) Soil recovery after removal of the N2-fixing invasive Acacia longifolia: consequences for ecosystem restoration. Biological Invasions 11, 813–823.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matali, S and Metali, F (2015) Selected soil physio-chemical properties in the Acacia mangium plantation and the adjacent heath forest at Andulau Forest Reserve. Malaysian Journal of Soil Science 19, 45–58.Google Scholar
Metali, F, Salim, KA, Tennakoon, K and Burslem, DFRP (2015) Controls on foliar nutrient and Al concentrations in a tropical tree flora: phylogeny, soil chemistry and interactions among elements. New Phytologist 205, 280–292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morris, TL, Esler, KJ, Barger, NN, Jacobs, SM and Cramer, MD (2011) Ecophysiological traits associated with the competitive ability of invasive Australian acacias. Diversity and Distributions 17, 898–910.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nsikani, MM, van Wilgen, BW, Bacher, S and Gaertner, M (2018) Re-establishmnet of Protea repens after clearing invasive Acacia saligna: consequences of soil legacy effects and on native nitrophilic weedy species. South African Journal of Botany 116, 103–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Osunkoya, OO and Damit, N (2005) Population dynamics of the invasive Acacias in Brunei Darussalam using matrix modelling. Journal of Physical Science 16, 115–126.Google Scholar
Osunkoya, OO, Othman, FE and Kahar, RS (2005) Growth and competition between seedlings of an invasive plantation tree, Acacia mangium, and those of a native Borneo heath-forest species, Melastoma beccarianum. Ecological Research 20, 205–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paoli, GD, Curran, LM and Zak, DR (2006) Soil nutrients and beta diversity in the Bornean Dipterocarpaceae: evidence for niche partitioning by tropical rain forest trees. Journal of Ecology 94, 157–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peh, KSH (2010) Invasive species in Southeast Asia: the knowledge so far. Biodiversity Conservation 19, 1083–1099.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perreira, APA, Zagatto, MRG, Brandani, CB, Mescolotti, DDL, Cotta, SR, Goncalves, JLM and Cardoso, EJBN (2018) Acacia changes microbial indicators and increases C and N in soil organic fractions in intercropped Eucalyptus plantations. Frontiers in Microbiology 9, 655. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00655 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pinheiro, J, Bates, D, DebRoy, S, Sarkar, D and R Core Team (2018) nlme: Linear and Nonlinear Mixed Effects Models. R package version 3.1-137, http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=nlme.Google Scholar
Pinhero, JC and Bates, DM (2004) Mixed-effects Models in S and S-Plus. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Powers, JS, Motgometry, RA, Adair, EC, Brearley, FQ, DeWalt, SJ, Castanho, CT, Chave, J, Deiner, E, Ganzhorn, JU, Gilbert, ME, Gonzalez-Iturbe, JA, Bunyavejchewin, S, Grau, HR, Harms, KE, Hiremath, A, Iriarte-Vivar, S, Manzane, E, de Oliveira, AA, Poorter, L, Ramanamanjato, J, Salk, C, Varela, A, Weiblen, G and Lerdau, MT (2009) Decomposition in tropical forests: a pan-tropical study of the effects of litter type, litter placement and mesofaunal exclusion across a precipitation gradient. Journal of Ecology 97, 801–811.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
R Development Core Team (2018) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. ISBN 3-900051-07-0, URL http://www.R-project.org/.Google Scholar
Richardson, DM and Rejmánek, M (2011) Trees and shrubs as invasive alien species: a global review. Diversity and Distribution 17, 788–809.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shiri, J, Keshavarzi, A, Kisi, O, Karimi, S and Iturraran-Viveros, U (2017) Modelling soil bulk density through a complete data scanning procedure: heuristic alternatives. Journal of Hydrology 549, 592–602.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stock, WD, Wienand, KT and Baker, AC (1995) Impacts of N2 fixing Acacia species on patterns of nutrient cycling in two Cape ecosystems: evidence from soil incubation studies and 15N natural abundance values. Oecologia 101, 375–382.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Suhaili, ALR, Tennakoon, KU and Sukri, RS (2015) Soil seed bank of an exotic Acacia sp. plantation and an adjacent tropical heath forest in Brunei Darussalam. Biotropia 22, 140–150.Google Scholar
Sukri, RS, Wahab, RA, Salim, KA and Burslem, DFRP (2012) Habitat associations and community structure of Dipterocarps in response to environment and soil conditions in Brunei Darussalam, Northwest Borneo. Biotropica 44, 595–605.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanaka, S, Kano, S, Lat, J, Mohd Effendi, WM, Tan, NP, Arifin, A, Sakurai, K and Kendawang, JJ (2015) Effects of Acacia mangium on morphological and physicochemical properties of soil. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 27, 357–368.Google Scholar
Tsukamoto, J and Sabang, J (2005) Soil macro-fauna in an Acacia mangium plantation in comparison to that in a primary mixed dipterocarp forest in the lowlands of Sarawak, Malaysia. Pedobiology 49, 69–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuah, WH, Tenakoon, KU, Jaafar, SM and Sukri, RS (2020) Post-fire impacts on tree diversity in coastal heath forests of Brunei Darussalam. Scientia Bruneiana 19, 19–32.Google Scholar
van Bich, N, Eyles, A, Mendham, D, Dong, TL, Ratkowsky, D, Evans, KJ, Hai, VD, Thanh, HV, Thinh, NV and Mohammed, C (2018) Contribution of harvest residues to nutrient cycling in a tropical Acacia mangium Willd. plantation. Forests 9, 577. doi: 10.3390/f9090577 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, C, Xiao, H, Liu, J, Wang, L and Du, D (2015) Insights into ecological effects of invasive plants on soil nitrogen cycles. American Journal of Plant Science 6, 34–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Werner, C, Zumkier, U, Beyschlag, W and Maguas, C (2010) High competitiveness of a resource demanding invasive Acacia under low resource supply. Plant Ecology 206, 83–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Witkowski, ETF (1991) Effects of alien Acacias on nutrient cycling in coastal lowlands of the Cape Fynbos. Journal of Applied Ecology 28, 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xiong, Y, Xia, H, Li, Z, Cai, X and Fu, S (2008) Impacts of litter and understory removal on soil properties in a subtropical Acacia mangium plantations in China. Plant and Soil 304, 179–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yamashita, N, Ohta, S and Hardjono, A (2008) Soil changes induced by Acacia mangium plantation establishment: comparison with secondary forest and Imperata cylindrica grassland soils in South Sumatra, Indonesia. Forest Ecology and Management 254, 362–370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yelenik, SG and D’Antonio, CM (2013) Self-reinforcing impacts of plant invasions change over time. Nature 503, 517–520.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yelenik, SG, Stock, WD and Richardson, DM (2007) Functional group identity does not predict invader impacts: differential effects of nitrogen fixing exotic plants on ecosystem function. Biological Invasions 9, 117–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yusoff, A, Tennakoon, KU, Jaafar, S, Zaman, DNAN and Sukri, RS (2019) Effects of Acacia invasion on leaf litter nutrient and soil properties of coastal Kerangas forests in Brunei Darussalam. Scientia Bruneiana 18, 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zefferman, E, Stevens, JT, Charles, GK, Dunbar-Irwin, M, Emam, T, Fick, S, Morales, LV, Wolf, KM, Young, DJN and Young, TP (2015) Plant communities in harsh sites are less invaded: a summary of observations and proposed explanations. AoB PLANTS 7. doi: 10.1093/aobpla/plv056 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zuur, AF, Ieno, EN, Walker, NJ, Savaliev, AA and Smith, GM (2009) Mixed Effects Models and Extensions in Ecology with R. New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Jaafar et al. supplementary material

Table S3

Download Jaafar et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 164.7 KB
Supplementary material: PDF

Jaafar et al. supplementary material

Table S2

Download Jaafar et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 155.9 KB
Supplementary material: PDF

Jaafar et al. supplementary material

Table S1

Download Jaafar et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 170.5 KB