New Harvard Forest Publication: Invasive Plant Study (Garlic Mustard)

Previous work at the Harvard Forest has shown that mycorrhizal fungi of herbaceous plants are inhibited by the invasion of garlic mustard. In this paper, researchers at the Harvard Forest, the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, and at Boston University demonstrate that ectomycorrhizal fungal communities in conifer dominated forests are also inhibited by the invasion of garlic mustard in multiple forest types throughout New England. The decline of ectomycorrhizal fungi due to garlic mustard invasion may have implications for tree seedling establishment and biogeochemical cycling in forest soils.

Wolfe, B.E., V.L. Rodgers, K.A. Stinson and A. Pringle. 2008. The invasive plant Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) inhibits ectomycorrhizal fungi in its introduced range. Journal of Ecology 96: 777-783.