Wetlands support great species diversity and perform important ecosystem services like carbon and nutrient cycling, largely facilitated by microorganisms. Invasive plants, like Phragmites australis, reduce biodiversity and alter ecosystem services. I hypothesized that changes in soil bacterial communities would occur after Phragmites invasion and restoration efforts employing herbicide to remove Phragmites would further disrupt communities. This was tested in freshwater wetlands using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of PCR amplified eubacterial DNA from soils dominated by Typha and Phragmites vegetation preceding and following herbicide application. Soil bacterial communities differed by vegetation type and indicated both seasonal and inter-annual effects. Bacterial diversity was greater in Typha soils that had more plant diversity (p < 0.05). Bacterial communities after herbicide application exhibited minor changes short-term (days), while geographic location conferred greater differences. These results suggest vegetation and soil conditions strongly influence bacterial communities while herbicide application has only weak impacts.
","abstract_html":"<p>Wetlands support great species diversity and perform important ecosystem services like carbon and nutrient cycling, largely facilitated by microorganisms. Invasive plants, like Phragmites australis, reduce biodiversity and alter ecosystem services. I hypothesized that changes in soil bacterial communities would occur after Phragmites invasion and restoration efforts employing herbicide to remove Phragmites would further disrupt communities. This was tested in freshwater wetlands using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of PCR amplified eubacterial DNA from soils dominated by Typha and Phragmites vegetation preceding and following herbicide application. Soil bacterial communities differed by vegetation type and indicated both seasonal and inter-annual effects. Bacterial diversity was greater in Typha soils that had more plant diversity (p < 0.05). Bacterial communities after herbicide application exhibited minor changes short-term (days), while geographic location conferred greater differences. These results suggest vegetation and soil conditions strongly influence bacterial communities while herbicide application has only weak impacts.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kirk, Jennifer K"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Kristin Judd","Daniel Clemans","Steven Francoeur"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:27Z","subjects":["Glyphosate","Great Lakes","Invasive species","microbial communities","Phragmites australis","wetlands","Biology","Life Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/835","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Kristin Judd","Daniel Clemans","Steven Francoeur"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kirk, Jennifer K"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-03-14T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Glyphosate","Great Lakes","Invasive species","microbial communities","Phragmites australis","wetlands","Biology","Life Sciences"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/835"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Wetlands support great species diversity and perform important ecosystem services like carbon and nutrient cycling, largely facilitated by microorganisms. Invasive plants, like Phragmites australis, reduce biodiversity and alter ecosystem services. I hypothesized that changes in soil bacterial communities would occur after Phragmites invasion and restoration efforts employing herbicide to remove Phragmites would further disrupt communities. This was tested in freshwater wetlands using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of PCR amplified eubacterial DNA from soils dominated by Typha and Phragmites vegetation preceding and following herbicide application. Soil bacterial communities differed by vegetation type and indicated both seasonal and inter-annual effects. Bacterial diversity was greater in Typha soils that had more plant diversity (p < 0.05). Bacterial communities after herbicide application exhibited minor changes short-term (days), while geographic location conferred greater differences. These results suggest vegetation and soil conditions strongly influence bacterial communities while herbicide application has only weak impacts.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Effect of invasive phragmites australis and its control on microbial community composition in a freshwater wetland"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Kristin Judd","Daniel Clemans","Steven Francoeur"],"dc:creator":["Kirk, Jennifer K"],"dc:date.available":["2018-03-14T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Wetlands support great species diversity and perform important ecosystem services like carbon and nutrient cycling, largely facilitated by microorganisms. Invasive plants, like Phragmites australis, reduce biodiversity and alter ecosystem services. I hypothesized that changes in soil bacterial communities would occur after Phragmites invasion and restoration efforts employing herbicide to remove Phragmites would further disrupt communities. This was tested in freshwater wetlands using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of PCR amplified eubacterial DNA from soils dominated by Typha and Phragmites vegetation preceding and following herbicide application. Soil bacterial communities differed by vegetation type and indicated both seasonal and inter-annual effects. Bacterial diversity was greater in Typha soils that had more plant diversity (p < 0.05). Bacterial communities after herbicide application exhibited minor changes short-term (days), while geographic location conferred greater differences. These results suggest vegetation and soil conditions strongly influence bacterial communities while herbicide application has only weak impacts.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/835"],"dc:subject":["Glyphosate","Great Lakes","Invasive species","microbial communities","Phragmites australis","wetlands","Biology","Life Sciences"],"dc:title":["Effect of invasive phragmites australis and its control on microbial community composition in a freshwater wetland"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:27Z"}