Article Effects of Ageratina adenophora Invasion on the Understory Community and Soil Phosphorus Characteristics of Different Forest Types in Southwest China Xiaoni Wu 1,2,3, Changqun Duan 1,3 , Denggao Fu 1,3,*, Peiyuan Peng 1,3, Luoqi Zhao 1,3 and Davey L. Jones 4,5 1 School of Ecology and Environmental Science & Yunnan Key Laboratory for Plateau Mountain Ecology and Restoration of Degraded Environments, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China;
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[email protected] (L.Z.) 2 School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Kunming University, Kunming 650214, China 3 International Cooperative Center of Plateau Lake Ecological Restoration and Watershed Management of Yunnan, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China 4 School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK;
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[email protected]; Tel./Fax: +86-871-6503-3629 Received: 17 June 2020; Accepted: 23 July 2020; Published: 25 July 2020 Abstract: Understanding the influence of invasive species on community composition and ecosystem properties is necessary to maintain ecosystem functions. However, little is known about how understory plant communities and soil nutrients respond to invasion under different land cover types. Here, we investigated the effects of the invasive species Ageratina adenophora on the species and functional diversity of understory communities and on soil phosphorus (P) status in three forest types: CF, coniferous forest; MF, coniferous and broadleaf mixed forest; and EBF, evergreen broadleaf forest.