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opencc-zeroAug 2022View details →

Database for meta-analysis of herbivore impacts on plant-soil feedbacks

We conducted a meta-analysis to test for an interaction between plant-soil feedbacks and herbivory, including effects on the magnitude and direction of feedbacks, herbivore consumption and herbivore growth. We identified 197 studies to address herbivore impacts on plant-soil feedbacks and 189 studies to address plant-soil impacts on herbivores. We calculated Hedge's D values to assess three questions: 1) What is the plant-soil feedback value of plants exposed to herbivory or no herbivory? 2) What is the growth or biomass of herbivores feeding on plants exposed to home or away soils in plant-soil feedback studies? 3) How much plant tissue is consumed by herbivores on plants grown in home or away soils? We found an overall significant weak negative effect of herbivory on plant-soil feedbacks that varied by plant functional type. In legumes herbivory drove plant-soil feedbacks from positive to negative, but herbivory on forbs further decreased negative feedbacks. Herbivore consumption was generally greater on plants grown in away soils. However, herbivore consumption was greater in home soils conditioned by legumes but lower in home soils conditioned by forbs. Therefore plant functional type determines the impact of conditioned soil on feedbacks, and herbivore consumption explains these results for legumes but not forbs.

opencc-zeroSep 2022View details →

Greenhouse plant-soil feedback experiment at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve

We conducted a reciprocal greenhouse experiment to examine how the growth of prairie grass species depended on the soil communities conditioned by conspecific or heterospecific plant species in the field. The source soil came from monocultures in a long-term competition experiment (LTCE, Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, MN, USA). Within the LTCE, six species of perennial prairie grasses were grown in monocultures or in eight pairwise competition plots for 12 years under conditions of low and high soil nitrogen availability. In six cases, one species clearly excluded the other; in two cases, the pair appeared to coexist. In year 12, we gathered soil from all 12 soil types (monocultures of six species by two nitrogen levels) and grew seedlings of all six species in each soil type for seven weeks.

opencc-zeroDec 2014View details →

Data from: Temporal dynamics of plant-soil feedback and root-associated fungal communities over 100 years of invasion by a non-native plant

1. Pathogens can accumulate on invasive plants over time, which could lead to population declines. The time required for these dynamics to occur is unknown and seldom addressed. Furthermore, no study has assessed plant-soil feedback while characterising plant pathogen and mutualist root fungal communities in the context of invasion time. 2. We used a plant-soil feedback study and 454 pyrosequencing to investigate pathogen accumulation over 100 years on a highly invasive plant in eastern North America that shows localised declines, Vincetoxicum rossicum (Apocynaceae). 3. We collected soil from five sites representing each of four invasion periods of V. rossicum across Ontario, Canada (old, ~100 years; intermediate, 50-60 years; young, <12 years; and uninvaded), and grew V. rossicum in these soils in a glasshouse study. Our hypothesis was that plants grown in soils invaded for longer periods of time would experience less positive feedbacks compared to those grown in more recently invaded or uninvaded soils. We collected roots of V. rossicum from the invasion periods and performed 454 pyrosequencing targeting fungi. We hypothesised that the abundance and richness of fungi that are known plant pathogens would be higher in roots from older invasions compared to more recent invasions. 4. Contrasting with our hypothesis, V. rossicum experienced overall growth promotion due to soil biota, regardless of invasion period. Vincetoxicum rossicum roots were colonised by a large number of fungal taxa, including many known plant pathogens or mutualistic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. However, we found no evidence of pathogen accumulation in older invaded sites in terms of species composition, richness or abundance. 5. Synthesis: Our consistent results in the glasshouse and the field highlight the strength of combining high-throughput sequencing data with plant-soil feedback experiments. We showed that the roots of Vincetoxicum rossicum (Apocynaceae) were colonised by many fungal taxa, but found no evidence for changes in plant growth or accumulation of fungal pathogens with longer invasion time. High pathogen loads may not lead to concurrent declines in invasive plants. Plant invasions, as demonstrated by V. rossicum, may be unpredictable in their ability to accumulate pathogens capable of leading to population declines.

opencc-zeroJun 2021View details →

Relationships between plant-soil feedbacks and functional traits

Plant-soil feedbacks (PSF) and functional traits are two active but not well theoretically integrated areas of research. However, PSF and traits are both affected by life history evolution, so the two should theoretically be related. We provide a conceptual framework to link plant functional traits to two types of PSF metrics, and hypothesize that individual PSF (plant performance in conspecific versus heterospecific soil) should be related to the fast-slow trait spectrum, while pairwise PSF (the sum of the individual feedbacks for two species growing in each other's soils) should be related to trait dissimilarity. We performed meta-analyses to test these hypotheses by compiling two datasets, one dataset consisting of individual PSF values and plant trait values (specific leaf area, SLA; leaf N concentration, LNC; specific root length, SRL; fine root diameter, FRD; plant height; seed mass), and the second consisting of pairwise PSF values and trait dissimilarity. Our meta-analyses showed that individual PSF values were more negative in faster-growing species with greater SLA, LNC and SRL, supporting the growth-defence trade-off hypothesis. Plant height was positively correlated with individual PSF, perhaps because large, long-lived plants defend against pathogens better than smaller, shorter-lived plants. We also found that larger-seeded species had more positive or less negative PSF, likely reflecting greater tolerance of soil pathogens. The direction of relationships between trait dissimilarity and pairwise PSF varied with trait identity. Dissimilarities in SRL and FRD were negatively correlated with pairwise PSF, while height dissimilarity was positively correlated with pairwise PSF. The contrasting relationships may reflect distinct links between trait dissimilarity and niche and fitness differences. Synthesis. Our results demonstrate how an integration of PSF and trait-based approaches can advance plant community ecology.

Supplementary material 5 from: Bowman EA, Plowes RM, Gilbert LE (2023) Evidence of plant-soil feedback in South Texas grasslands associated with invasive Guinea grass. NeoBiota 81: 33-51. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.81.86672

Results of t-test examining differences in soil characteristics between invaded and uninvaded sites. Electrical conductivity, phosphorus, and sulfur were log-transformed prior to analysis.

Supplementary material 4 from: Bowman EA, Plowes RM, Gilbert LE (2023) Evidence of plant-soil feedback in South Texas grasslands associated with invasive Guinea grass. NeoBiota 81: 33-51. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.81.86672

Results of one-way ANOVA examining the effect of autoclave time on soil characteristics. Electrical conductivity, phosphorus, and sulfur were log-transformed prior to analysis.

Supplementary material 1 from: Bowman EA, Plowes RM, Gilbert LE (2023) Evidence of plant-soil feedback in South Texas grasslands associated with invasive Guinea grass. NeoBiota 81: 33-51. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.81.86672

Soil sampling sites showing extent of Guinea grass patch (white boundary, I) and adjacent uninvaded grassland (N) with nearby mesquite tree mottes. Google Earth Imagery date 1/13/2014. Scale bar 70m.

Supplementary material 2 from: Bowman EA, Plowes RM, Gilbert LE (2023) Evidence of plant-soil feedback in South Texas grasslands associated with invasive Guinea grass. NeoBiota 81: 33-51. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.81.86672

Initial germination of Guinea grass seed (a) and the seedbank (b) during week 1 was higher in soil from invaded sites than uninvaded sites. All data shown here are non-transformed.

Supplementary material 3 from: Bowman EA, Plowes RM, Gilbert LE (2023) Evidence of plant-soil feedback in South Texas grasslands associated with invasive Guinea grass. NeoBiota 81: 33-51. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.81.86672

Effect of soil handling method on Guinea grass seedling count (a), native community plant abundance (b), and native community biomass (c). MSS: mixed soil sampling; ISS: individual soil sampling. All data shown are non-transformed.