Non-native earthworms can alter ecosystems by modifying soil structure, depredating seeds and seedlings, and consuming soil organic matter, yet the initial responses of plant communities to earthworm invasions remain poorly understood. We assessed the effect of non-native earthworms on seedling survival during germination and after establishment using six native and six non-native plant species grown from seed in single- and multi-species experimental mesocosms. We examined the extent to which earthworms (1) influenced seedling survival, (2) selectively depredated native versus non-native plants, (3) impacted establishment based on seed size and/or root morphology, and (4) shaped community assembly. The effect of earthworms on seedling survival varied temporally and among species but inconsistently with respect to species origin. Differences in seed/seedling survival translated to changes in community assembly. Earthworms tended to reduce species abundance, richness, evenness, and diversity in multi-species mesocosms and led to the divergence of communities by treatment. In general, species with large seeds and fibrous roots dominated communities with earthworms present, whereas species with small seeds and taproots only persisted in multi-species mesocosms without earthworms. Our findings suggest that earthworms act as ecological filters in the early stages of invasion to shape community composition based on plant morphological traits.

非本地earth可以通过改变土壤结构，掠夺种子和幼苗以及消耗土壤有机质来改变生态系统，但是植物群落对earth入侵的最初反应仍然知之甚少。我们评估了非原生earth对发芽期间和建立后的幼苗存活的影响，使用了在单种和多种实验性中观世界中从种子中生长的六种天然和六种非天然植物物种。我们研究了（（1）影响幼苗存活的程度，（2）有选择地淘汰了本地植物与非本地植物，（3）基于种子大小和/或根系形态影响了建立，以及（4）形状的群落聚集。on对幼苗存活的影响随时间和物种而异，但就物种起源而言并不一致。种子/幼苗存活的差异转化为社区集会的变化。tend往往会减少多物种中观世界中物种的丰富度，丰富性，均匀性和多样性，并通过治疗导致群落的分化。通常，具有大种子和须根的物种在存在communities的社区中占主导地位，而具有小种子和主根的物种仅存在于没有earth的多物种中观世界中。我们的发现表明，in在入侵的早期阶段就充当了生态过滤器的角色，可以根据植物的形态特征来塑造群落组成。具有大种子和须根的物种在存在communities的社区中占主导地位，而具有小种子和主根的物种仅在没有earth的多物种中观世界中持续存在。我们的发现表明，in在入侵的早期阶段就充当了生态过滤器的角色，可以根据植物的形态特征来塑造群落组成。具有大种子和须根的物种在存在communities的社区中占主导地位，而具有小种子和主根的物种仅在没有earth的多物种中观世界中持续存在。我们的发现表明，in在入侵的早期阶段就充当了生态过滤器的角色，可以根据植物的形态特征来塑造群落组成。