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Herbaceous layer contrast and alien plant occurrence in utility corridors and riparian forests of the Allegheny High Plateau

communities by alien plant species that can adversely affect community structure and function. To determine how corridor establishment influences riparian vegetation of the Allegheny High Plateau of northwestern Pennsylvania, we compared the species composition and richness of the herbaceous layer (all vascular plants s 1 m tall) of utility corridors and adjacent headwater riparian forests, and tested the hypothesis that utility corridors serve as foci for the invasion of adjacent riparian forest by alien vascular plants. We contrasted plant species richness and vegetative cover, cover by growth form, species richness and cover of alien plants and cover of microhabitat components (open soil, rock, leaf litter, log, bryophyte) in utility corridors and adjacent riparian forest at 17 sites. Cluster analysis revealed that herbaceous layer species assemblages in corridors and riparian forest were compositionally distinct. Herbaceous layer cover and species richness were significantly (P s 0.05) greater in corridors than in riparian forest. Fern, graminoid, and forb species co-dominated herbaceous layer cover in corridors; fern cover dominated riparian forests. Cover of alien plants was significantly greater in corridors than in riparian forest. Alien plant species richness and cover were significantly and positively correlated with open soil, floodplain width, and active channel width in corridors but were significantly and negatively correlated with litter cover in riparian forest. Given that the majority of alien plant species we found in corridors were shade-intolerant and absent from riparian forests, we conclude that open utility corridors primarily serve as habitat refugia, rather than as invasion foci, for alien plant species in riparian forests of the Allegheny High Plateau.