More research on invasive species

Having just started studying an invasive species, the most noticeable effects are a negative impact on some of the other plants in the community. This can happen via a lot of different mechanisms. But even if the invasive species is removed, they can have a residual negative effect from having altered the soil microbiota (link to a news article about such a study), something that has not been studied much. Sometime during the next month, in collaboration with a soil ecologist, samples will be taken from our long term study plots to determine what changes to the soil microbiota have resulted from this invading legume. This will be quite interesting because a related species is a native to the prairie, so will the change be observable, subtle, or dramatic? The data will tell.