The droppings that cowbirds and other invaders leave behind can also contain seeds from invasive plants that will sprout, spread and ultimately change the soil so much that some forest salamanders and wildflowers can't survive, experts note.
Over a two-year experiment, we saw that there was a change in the soil structure as a result of a wetting and drying of the soil in clay-rich soils, and that can increase the amount of structure and hence storage of water.
And other factors driving global change, like radiation, soil erosion, changing soil conditions and demographic pressures, are also very noticeable in mountain regions.