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Wang G, Burrill HM, Podzikowski LY, Eppinga MB, Zhang F, Zhang J, Schultz PA, Bever JD. Dilution of specialist pathogens drives productivity benefits from diversity in plant mixtures. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8417. [PMID: 38110413 PMCID: PMC10728191 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44253-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Productivity benefits from diversity can arise when compatible pathogen hosts are buffered by unrelated neighbors, diluting pathogen impacts. However, the generality of pathogen dilution has been controversial and rarely tested within biodiversity manipulations. Here, we test whether soil pathogen dilution generates diversity- productivity relationships using a field biodiversity-manipulation experiment, greenhouse assays, and feedback modeling. We find that the accumulation of specialist pathogens in monocultures decreases host plant yields and that pathogen dilution predicts plant productivity gains derived from diversity. Pathogen specialization predicts the strength of the negative feedback between plant species in greenhouse assays. These feedbacks significantly predict the overyielding measured in the field the following year. This relationship strengthens when accounting for the expected dilution of pathogens in mixtures. Using a feedback model, we corroborate that pathogen dilution drives overyielding. Combined empirical and theoretical evidence indicate that specialist pathogen dilution generates overyielding and suggests that the risk of losing productivity benefits from diversity may be highest where environmental change decouples plant-microbe interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangzhou Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Nutrient Use and Management (SKL-NUM), College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, China Agricultural University, 100193, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
- Kansas Biological Survey and Center for Ecological Research, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA.
| | - Haley M Burrill
- Kansas Biological Survey and Center for Ecological Research, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
- The Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA
| | - Laura Y Podzikowski
- Kansas Biological Survey and Center for Ecological Research, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
| | - Maarten B Eppinga
- Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Fusuo Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Nutrient Use and Management (SKL-NUM), College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, China Agricultural University, 100193, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Junling Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Nutrient Use and Management (SKL-NUM), College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, China Agricultural University, 100193, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Peggy A Schultz
- Kansas Biological Survey and Center for Ecological Research, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
- Environmental Studies Program, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
| | - James D Bever
- Kansas Biological Survey and Center for Ecological Research, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA.
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA.
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