10.5061/DRYAD.R43D0
Bauer, Jonathan T.
Indiana University Bloomington
Blumenthal, Noah
Indiana University Bloomington
Miller, Anna J.
Indiana University Bloomington
Ferguson, Julia K.
Indiana University Bloomington
Reynolds, Heather L.
Indiana University Bloomington
Data from: Effects of between-site variation in soil microbial communities
and plant-soil feedbacks on the productivity and composition of plant
communities
Dryad
dataset
2018
legacy effects
priority effects
mycorrhizae
2018-05-01T00:00:00Z
2018-05-01T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12937
33405 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
A critical challenge in the science and practice of restoration ecology is
to understand the drivers of variation in restoration outcomes. Soil
microbial communities may have a role in explaining this variation due to
both site-to-site variation in the composition of soil microbial
communities and due to variation that can arise due to plant-soil
feedbacks. We tested the relative importance of between-site variation in
soil microbial community composition and plant-soil feedbacks in shaping
plant community composition and ecosystem function. We used a standard
two-phase plant-soil feedback design. Soil inoculum was collected from
four tallgrass prairie sites. Then, soils were conditioned separately with
nine plant species, and conditioned soils were used to inoculate prairie
community mesocosms. In a separate experiment using soil from an
additional site we tested conditioned soil samples for the abundance of
arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and rhizobia. Site of soil origin and
plant-soil feedbacks both had effects on the composition and productivity
of our plant communities, and the magnitudes of these effects were
similar. We also found changes in the abundance of AMF and rhizobia due to
plant-soil feedbacks and that AMF abundance were associated with
differences in plant community composition. These results indicate that
the composition of soil communities due to site-to-site variation and
plant-soil feedbacks are both important determinants of plant community
composition and productivity. Our results also suggest that AMF and
rhizobia are key microbial functional groups underlying plant-soil
feedback effects. Synthesis and applications. Site-to-site variation in
soil communities can explain some variation in restoration of plant
communities. Since plant-soil feedback effects of restored plant species
do not overcome this variation, knowledge of soil microbial communities
present at a site prior to initiation of restoration efforts may improve
predictability of restoration outcomes, and reintroduction of some
components of the soil community may be necessary to achieve restoration
goals. Additionally, by understanding variation due to plant-soil
feedbacks, restoration practitioners can choose plant species for
reintroduction that will create favourable soil conditions, including
promoting microbial mutualists. Plant-soil feedbacks should also make it
possible to increase heterogeneity in soil microbial communities, leading
to increases in beta diversity in plant communities.
Experiment 1 Species DataExperiment 1 - Site vs. Plant-soil Feedback
Experiment. Above-ground biomass (g) of nine plant species grown in soils
originating from four sites and conditioned by one of nine plant
species.Experiment 2 Species DataExperiment 2 - AMF & Rhizobia
Experiment. Above-ground biomass (g) of ten plant species grown in soils
originating from one site and conditioned by one of ten plant
species.AMFExperiment 2 - AMF hyphae, vesicle and arbuscule abundance in
soils conditioned by one of ten plant species.NodulationExperiment 2 -
Nodule formation on Baptisia and Melilotus seedlings in soils conditioned
by one of ten plant species.