Invader removal restructures multitrophic communities and triggers secondary invasion

Efforts to restore ecosystems invaded by non-native plants often aim to reverse invasion impacts, yet removal can trigger new community shifts across trophic levels. We examined how removal of Rhamnus cathartica (common buckthorn) influenced plants, arthropods, pollinators and rodents in a post-industrial forest preserve in western New York, USA. Across 18 plots representing restored, buckthorn tree, and buckthorn shrub stands, we quantified vegetation structure, leaf litter biomass and faunal abundance. Buckthorn removal promoted a tenfold increase in herbaceous cover and species richness, yielding more diverse and structurally complex understories. These changes coincided with higher arthropod and pollinator abundance, but also a three- to fivefold increase in the invasive ant Myrmica rubra (European fire ant). Contrary to expectations, M. rubra flourished in restored plots, responding to thicker and more stable leaf litter rather than canopy shade. Pollinator abundance declined with ..., Study Site Tifft Nature Preserve is a 107-ha post-industrial forest-wetland complex near the eastern shore of Lake Erie in Buffalo, NY, USA (42.84651, −78.85951). The area was originally part of a broad floodplain and wetland system south of the Buffalo River mouth, later converted to farmland and used as a transshipment facility for iron ore, lumber and coal. It subsequently served as a dumping site for industrial and municipal waste before being restored as a nature preserve in the 1970s. The site has alkaline soils (pH 7.6–7.8) high in calcium (Spiering 2009). The woodland canopy is dominated by Populus deltoides (eastern cottonwood) with some Salix spp. (willow) and Ailanthus altissima (tree-of-heaven). The understory is dominated by Rhamnus cathartica (with Frangula alnus [syn. Rhamnus frangula] in wetter areas), Reynoutria spp. (Japanese knotweed), Cornus spp. (dogwood) and Lonicera spp. (honeysuckle), with limited natural regeneration of native woody species (Labatore et al. 2017..., # Invader removal restructures multitrophic communities and triggers secondary invasion Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.08kprr5gk](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.08kprr5gk) ## Description of the data and file structure Efforts to restore ecosystems invaded by non-native plants often aim to reverse invasion impacts, yet removal can trigger new community shifts across trophic levels. We examined how removal of *Rhamnus cathartica* (common buckthorn) influenced plants, arthropods, pollinators and rodents in a post-industrial forest preserve in western New York, USA. Across 18 plots representing restored, buckthorn tree, and buckthorn shrub stands, we quantified vegetation structure, leaf litter biomass and faunal abundance. ### Files and variables #### File: Data_DRYAD.csv **Description:** ##### Variables * Ident: Line number identifier * Julian: Julian data * Plot: Study plot * Treatment: native = buckthorn completely removed, BTtree = buckthorn never removed, BTshrub = buckthorn remo..., ,