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McPeek MA, Hicks Pries C. The complex circuitry of interactions determining coexistence among plants and mycorrhizal fungi. Ecology 2024; 105:e4281. [PMID: 38507266 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
We present a mechanistic model of coexistence among a mycorrhizal fungus and one or two plant species that compete for a single nutrient. Plant-fungal coexistence is more likely if the fungus is better at extracting the environmental nutrient than the plant and the fungus acquires carbon from the plant above a minimum rate. When they coexist, their interaction can shift from mutualistic to parasitic at high nutrient availability. The fungus is a second nutrient source for plants and can promote the coexistence of two plant competitors if one is better at environmental nutrient extraction and the other is better at acquiring the nutrient from the fungus. Because it extracts carbon from both plants, the fungus also serves as a conduit of apparent competition between the plants. Consequently, the plant with the lower environmental nutrient extraction rate can drive the plant with the higher environmental nutrient extraction rate extinct at high carbon supply rates. This model illustrates mechanisms to explain several observed patterns, including shifts in plant-mycorrhizal growth responses and coexistence along nutrient gradients, equivocal results among experiments testing the effect of mycorrhizal fungi on plant diversity, and differences in plant diversity among ecosystems dominated by different mycorrhizal groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A McPeek
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Caitlin Hicks Pries
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
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2
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Yu HW, He WM. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Compete Asymmetrically for Amino Acids with Native and Invasive Solidago. MICROBIAL ECOLOGY 2022; 84:131-140. [PMID: 34406446 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-021-01841-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and soil amino acids both affect plant performance. However, little is known about how AMF compete for amino acids with native and invasive congeners. We conducted a factorial experiment (inoculation, native and invasive species, and amino acids) to examine the competition for amino acids between soil microbes and both native and invasive congeners. The competition for amino acids between AMF and invasive Solidago canadensis was weaker than that observed between AMF and native S. decurrens. This asymmetric competition increased the growth advantage of S. canadensis over S. decurrens. The efficacy (biomass production per unit of nitrogen supply) of amino acids compared to ammonium was smaller in S. canadensis than in S. decurrens when both species were grown without inoculation, but the opposite was the case when both species were grown with AMF. AMF and all microbes differentially altered four phenotypic traits (plant height, leaf chlorophyll content, leaf number, and root biomass allocation) and the pathways determining the effects of amino acids on growth advantages. These findings suggest that AMF could enhance plant invasiveness through asymmetric competition for amino acids and that amino acid-driven invasiveness might be differentially regulated by different microbial guilds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong-Wei Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Wei-Ming He
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China.
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
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3
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Guo X, Wang P, Wang X, Li Y, Ji B. Specific Plant Mycorrhizal Responses Are Linked to Mycorrhizal Fungal Species Interactions. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:930069. [PMID: 35755699 PMCID: PMC9226604 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.930069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on plants span the continuum from mutualism to parasitism due to the plant-AMF specificity, which obscures the utilization of AMF in the restoration of degraded lands. Caragana korshinskii, Hedysarum laeve, Caragana microphylla, and Poa annua are the most frequently used plants for revegetation in Kubuqi Desert, China, and the influence of AMF on their re-establishment remains to be explored further. Herein, using a greenhouse experiment, we tested the plant-AMF feedbacks between the four plant species and their conspecific or heterospecific AMF, retrieved from their rhizosphere in the Kubuqi Desert. AMF showed beneficial effects on plant growth for all these plant-AMF pairs. Generally, AMF increased the biomass of C. korshinskii, H. laeve, C. microphylla, and P. annua by 97.6, 50.6, 46.5, and 381.1%, respectively, relative to control. In addition, the AMF-plant specificity was detected. P. annua grew best, but C. microphylla grew worst with conspecific AMF communities. AMF community from P. annua showed the largest beneficial effect on all the plants (with biomass increased by 63.9-734.4%), while the AMF community from C. microphylla showed the least beneficial effect on all the plants (with biomass increased by 9.9-59.1%), except for P. annua (a 292.4% increase in biomass). The magnitude of AMF effects on plant growth was negatively correlated with the complexity of the corresponding AMF co-occurrence networks. Overall, this study suggests that AMF effects on plant growth vary due to plant-AMF specificity. We also observed the broad-spectrum benefits of the native AMF from P. annua, which indicates its potential utilization in the restoration of the desert vegetation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Guo
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Ping Wang
- Command Center for Integrated Natural Resource Survey, China Geological Survey, Beijing, China
| | - Xinjie Wang
- College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Yaoming Li
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Baoming Ji
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
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4
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Liu S, Moora M, Vasar M, Zobel M, Öpik M, Koorem K. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi promote small-scale vegetation recovery in the forest understorey. Oecologia 2021; 197:685-697. [PMID: 34716490 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-05065-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Root-associating arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi foster vegetation recovery in degraded habitats. AM fungi increase nutrient availability for host plants; therefore, their importance is expected to be higher when nutrient availability is low. However, little is known about how small-scale variation in nutrient availability influences plant and AM fungal communities in a stable ecosystem. We conducted a 2-year field study in the understorey of a boreonemoral forest where we examined plant and AM fungal communities at microsites (15 cm diameter) with intact vegetation cover and at disturbed microsites where vegetation was cleared away and soil was sterilized to remove soil biota. We manipulated soil nutrient content (increased with fertilizer, unchanged, or decreased with sucrose addition) and fungal activity (natural or suppressed by fungicide addition) at these microsites. After two vegetation seasons, manipulations with nutrient content resulted in significant, although moderate, differences in the content of soil nutrients (e.g. in soil phosphorus). Suppression of fungal activity resulted in lower richness, abundance and phylogenetic diversity of AM fungal community, independently of microsite type and soil fertility level. Plant species richness and diversity decreased when fungal activity was suppressed at disturbed but not in intact microsites. The correlation between plant and AM fungal communities was not influenced by microsite type or soil fertility. We conclude that small-scale variation in soil fertility and habitat integrity does not influence the interactions between plants and AM fungi. The richness, but not composition, of AM fungal communities recovered fast after small-scale disturbance and supported the recovery of species-rich vegetation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siqiao Liu
- Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
| | - Mari Moora
- Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Martti Vasar
- Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Martin Zobel
- Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Maarja Öpik
- Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Kadri Koorem
- Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
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de Vries J, Evers JB, Kuyper TW, van Ruijven J, Mommer L. Mycorrhizal associations change root functionality: a 3D modelling study on competitive interactions between plants for light and nutrients. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 231:1171-1182. [PMID: 33930184 PMCID: PMC8361744 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies show that the variation in root functional traits can be explained by a two-dimensional trait framework, containing a 'collaboration' axis in addition to the classical fast-slow 'conservation' axis. This collaboration axis spans from thin and highly branched roots that employ a 'do-it-yourself' strategy to thick and sparsely branched roots that 'outsource' nutrient uptake to symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Here, we explore the functionality of this collaboration axis by quantifying how interactions with AMF change the impact of root traits on plant performance. To this end, we developed a novel functional-structural plant (FSP) modelling approach that simulates plants competing for light and nutrients in the presence or absence of AMF. Our simulation results support the notion that in the absence of AMF, plants rely on thin, highly branched roots for their nutrient uptake. The presence of AMF, however, promotes thick, unbranched roots as an alternative strategy for uptake of immobile phosphorus, but not for mobile nitrogen. This provides further support for a root trait framework that accommodates for the interactive effect of roots and AMF. Our modelling study offers unique opportunities to incorporate soil microbial interactions into root functionality as it integrates consequences of belowground trait expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorad de Vries
- Centre for Crop System AnalysisWageningen UniversityPO Box 430Wageningen6700 AKthe Netherlands
- Institute for Integrative BiologyETH ZürichZürich8092Switzerland
| | - Jochem B. Evers
- Centre for Crop System AnalysisWageningen UniversityPO Box 430Wageningen6700 AKthe Netherlands
| | - Thomas W. Kuyper
- Soil Biology GroupWageningen UniversityPO Box 47Wageningen6700 AAthe Netherlands
| | - Jasper van Ruijven
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation GroupWageningen UniversityPO Box 47Wageningen6700 AAthe Netherlands
| | - Liesje Mommer
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation GroupWageningen UniversityPO Box 47Wageningen6700 AAthe Netherlands
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Mikola J, Koikkalainen K, Rasehorn M, Silfver T, Paaso U, Rousi M. Genotypic traits and tradeoffs of fast growth in silver birch, a pioneer tree. Oecologia 2021; 196:1049-1060. [PMID: 34309705 PMCID: PMC8367902 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-04986-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2020] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Fast-growing and slow-growing plant species are suggested to show integrated economics spectrums and the tradeoffs of fast growth are predicted to emerge as susceptibility to herbivory and resource competition. We tested if these predictions also hold for fast-growing and slow-growing genotypes within a silver birch, Betula pendula population. We exposed cloned saplings of 17 genotypes with slow, medium or fast height growth to reduced insect herbivory, using an insecticide, and to increasing resource competition, using naturally varying field plot grass cover. We measured shoot and root growth, ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungal production using ergosterol analysis and soil N transfer to leaves using 15N-labelled pulse of NH4+. We found that fast-growing genotypes grew on average 78% faster, produced 56% and 16% more leaf mass and ergosterol, and showed 78% higher leaf N uptake than slow-growing genotypes. The insecticide decreased leaf damage by 83% and increased shoot growth, leaf growth and leaf N uptake by 38%, 52% and 76%, without differences between the responses of fast-growing and slow-growing genotypes, whereas root mass decreased with increasing grass cover. Shoot and leaf growth of fast-growing genotypes decreased and EM fungal production of slow-growing genotypes increased with increasing grass cover. Our results suggest that fast growth is genotypically associated with higher allocation to EM fungi, better soil N capture and greater leaf production, and that the tradeoff of fast growth is sensitivity to competition, but not to insect herbivory. EM fungi may have a dual role: to support growth of fast-growing genotypes under low grass competition and to maintain growth of slow-growing genotypes under intensifying competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juha Mikola
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Niemenkatu 73, 15140, Lahti, Finland. .,Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Latokartanonkaari 9, 00790, Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Katariina Koikkalainen
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Niemenkatu 73, 15140, Lahti, Finland.,Ramboll Finland, Niemenkatu 73, 15240, Lahti, Finland
| | - Mira Rasehorn
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Niemenkatu 73, 15140, Lahti, Finland
| | - Tarja Silfver
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Niemenkatu 73, 15140, Lahti, Finland.,Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Ulla Paaso
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Niemenkatu 73, 15140, Lahti, Finland
| | - Matti Rousi
- Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Latokartanonkaari 9, 00790, Helsinki, Finland
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7
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Stein C, Mangan SA. Soil biota increase the likelihood for coexistence among competing plant species. Ecology 2020; 101:e03147. [PMID: 33460105 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Revised: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Theory predicts that stable species coexistence will occur when population growth rates of competitively dominant species are suppressed when at high conspecific density. Although there is now compelling evidence that plant communities exhibit negative density dependence, the relative importance of the underlying processes leading to these patterns is rarely tested. We coupled reciprocal greenhouse and field experiments with community dynamics modeling to untangle the relative importance of soil biota from competition as stabilizing forces to coexistence. We found that (1) plant-soil biotic interactions compared to competitive interactions were stronger stabilizing forces, (2) only the strength of plant-soil biotic interactions was dependent on plant evolutionary history, and (3) the variation in the strength of plant-soil biotic interactions was correlated with relative abundance patterns in an opposite way than was the variation in the strength of competitive interactions. Collectively, our results demonstrate the fundamental role soil biota have in maintaining plant community diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Stein
- Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Auburn University at Montgomery, 7061 Senator's Drive, Montgomery, Alabama, 36117, USA.,Tyson Research Center, Washington University in St. Louis, 6750 Tyson Valley Rd, Eureka, Missouri, 63025, USA
| | - Scott A Mangan
- Tyson Research Center, Washington University in St. Louis, 6750 Tyson Valley Rd, Eureka, Missouri, 63025, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas, 72467, USA
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Reeb RA, Acevedo I, Heberling JM, Isaac B, Kuebbing SE. Nonnative old‐field species inhabit early season phenological niches and exhibit unique sensitivity to climate. Ecosphere 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Rachel A. Reeb
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Pittsburgh 4249 Fifth Avenue Pittsburgh Pennsylvania15260USA
| | - Isabel Acevedo
- Institute for Environment and Society Brown University 85 Waterman Street Providence Rhode Island02912USA
| | - J. Mason Heberling
- Section of Botany Carnegie Museum of Natural History 4400 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh Pennsylvania15213USA
| | - Bonnie Isaac
- Section of Botany Carnegie Museum of Natural History 4400 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh Pennsylvania15213USA
| | - Sara E. Kuebbing
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Pittsburgh 4249 Fifth Avenue Pittsburgh Pennsylvania15260USA
- Section of Botany Carnegie Museum of Natural History 4400 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh Pennsylvania15213USA
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Tedersoo L, Bahram M, Zobel M. How mycorrhizal associations drive plant population and community biology. Science 2020; 367:367/6480/eaba1223. [PMID: 32079744 DOI: 10.1126/science.aba1223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 290] [Impact Index Per Article: 72.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Mycorrhizal fungi provide plants with a range of benefits, including mineral nutrients and protection from stress and pathogens. Here we synthesize current information about how the presence and type of mycorrhizal association affect plant communities. We argue that mycorrhizal fungi regulate seedling establishment and species coexistence through stabilizing and equalizing mechanisms such as soil nutrient partitioning, feedback to soil antagonists, differential mycorrhizal benefits, and nutrient trade. Mycorrhizal fungi have strong effects on plant population and community biology, with mycorrhizal type-specific effects on seed dispersal, seedling establishment, and soil niche differentiation, as well as interspecific and intraspecific competition and hence plant diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leho Tedersoo
- Natural History Museum of Estonia, Tallinn, Estonia.
| | - Mohammad Bahram
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Martin Zobel
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
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10
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Montesinos-Navarro A, Valiente-Banuet A, Verdú M. Processes underlying the effect of mycorrhizal symbiosis on plant-plant interactions. FUNGAL ECOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.funeco.2018.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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11
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Neuenkamp L, Zobel M, Lind E, Gerz M, Moora M. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community composition determines the competitive response of two grassland forbs. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0219527. [PMID: 31291331 PMCID: PMC6620016 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Accepted: 06/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
We performed a greenhouse experiment to assess how differences in AM fungal community composition affect competitive response of grassland plant species. We used a full factorial design to determine how inoculation with natural AM fungal communities from different habitats in Western Estonia affects the growth response of two grassland forbs (Leontodon hispidus L., Plantago lanceolata L.) to competition with a dominant grass (Festuca rubra L.). We used AM fungal inocula that were known to differ in AM fungal diversity and composition: more diverse AM fungal communities from open grasslands and less diverse AM fungal communities from former grassland densely overgrown by pines (young pine forest). The presence of AM fungi balanced competition between forb and grass species, by enhancing competitive response of the forbs. The magnitude of this effect was dependent on forb species identity and on the origin of the AM fungal inoculum in the soil. The grassland inoculum enhanced the competitive response of the forb species more effectively than the forest inoculum, but inoculum-specific competitive responses varied according to the habitat preference of the forb species. Our findings provide evidence that composition and diversity of natural AM fungal communities, as well as co-adaptation of plant hosts and AM-fungal communities to local habitat conditions, can determine plant-plant interactions and thus ultimately influence plant community structure in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Neuenkamp
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Martin Zobel
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Eva Lind
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Maret Gerz
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Mari Moora
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
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12
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Local adaptation to mycorrhizal fungi in geographically close Lobelia siphilitica populations. Oecologia 2019; 190:127-138. [PMID: 31102015 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04412-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2018] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Mutualism between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi is common, and plant populations are expected to have adapted to the AM fungal communities occupying their roots. Tests of this hypothesis have frequently been done with plant populations that are tens to hundreds of kilometers apart. However, because AM fungal community composition differs at scales < 1 km, local adaptation of plant populations to AM fungi may occur at small spatial scales, but this prediction has not been tested. Furthermore, prior experiments do not often experimentally identify whether adaptation is related to specific mycorrhizal functions. To test for plant adaptation to AM fungal communities at small spatial scales, and whether adaptation is associated with the nutritional benefits that AM fungi provide to plants, we grew Lobelia siphilitica plants from two geographically close populations (1.4 km apart) in a greenhouse reciprocal transplant experiment with soil biota that either included (whole soil) or excluded AM fungi (microbial wash) at both low and high soil phosphorus availability. Though both plant populations responded positively to the presence of AM fungi in the whole soil biota treatment relative to the microbial wash treatment, the average growth response of plant populations to mycorrhizal fungi was highest when local populations were grown with local AM fungi. In addition, local adaptation was only observed in the presence of AM fungi at low phosphorus levels. Thus, local adaptation of plant populations to AM fungi is present at spatial scales that are much smaller than previously demonstrated and occurred primarily to enhance phosphorus acquisition.
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Lekberg Y, Bever JD, Bunn RA, Callaway RM, Hart MM, Kivlin SN, Klironomos J, Larkin BG, Maron JL, Reinhart KO, Remke M, van der Putten WH. Relative importance of competition and plant-soil feedback, their synergy, context dependency and implications for coexistence. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1268-1281. [PMID: 29896848 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2017] [Revised: 12/28/2017] [Accepted: 05/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Plants interact simultaneously with each other and with soil biota, yet the relative importance of competition vs. plant-soil feedback (PSF) on plant performance is poorly understood. Using a meta-analysis of 38 published studies and 150 plant species, we show that effects of interspecific competition (either growing plants with a competitor or singly, or comparing inter- vs. intraspecific competition) and PSF (comparing home vs. away soil, live vs. sterile soil, or control vs. fungicide-treated soil) depended on treatments but were predominantly negative, broadly comparable in magnitude, and additive or synergistic. Stronger competitors experienced more negative PSF than weaker competitors when controlling for density (inter- to intraspecific competition), suggesting that PSF could prevent competitive dominance and promote coexistence. When competition was measured against plants growing singly, the strength of competition overwhelmed PSF, indicating that the relative importance of PSF may depend not only on neighbour identity but also density. We evaluate how competition and PSFs might interact across resource gradients; PSF will likely strengthen competitive interactions in high resource environments and enhance facilitative interactions in low-resource environments. Finally, we provide a framework for filling key knowledge gaps and advancing our understanding of how these biotic interactions influence community structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ylva Lekberg
- MPG Ranch Missoula, MT, 59801, USA.,Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 59812, USA
| | - James D Bever
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Kansas Biological Survey, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66047, USA
| | - Rebecca A Bunn
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, 98225, USA
| | - Ragan M Callaway
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 59812.,Wildlife Biology and the Institute on Ecosystems, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
| | - Miranda M Hart
- Department of Biology, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada
| | - Stephanie N Kivlin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - John Klironomos
- Department of Biology, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada
| | | | - John L Maron
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 59812
| | - Kurt O Reinhart
- United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory, Miles City, MT, 59301, USA
| | - Michael Remke
- School of Forestry, College of Engineering Forestry and Natural Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA
| | - Wim H van der Putten
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Netherlands Institute of Ecology, 6708 PB, Wageningen, the Netherlands.,Department of Plant Sciences, Laboratory of Nematology, Wageningen University (WUR), 6700 ES, Wageningen, the Netherlands
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