Plant-soil feedback in herbaceous species of Mediterranean coastal dunes
PDF

Keywords

allelopathy
coexistence
species diversity
soil history
soil-borne pathogens

How to Cite

Bonanomi, G., Esposito, A., & Mazzoleni, S. (2013). Plant-soil feedback in herbaceous species of Mediterranean coastal dunes. Biological Letters, 49(1), 35–44. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10120-012-0007-2

Number of views: 47


Number of downloads: 21

Abstract

Plants induce soil heterogeneity that can affect species coexistence. In this work, the soil heterogeneity induced by the growth of 9 species selected from Mediterranean vegetation of coastal dunes was studied in controlled conditions. We investigated the effect of the grown plants on soil characteristics (pH, electrical conductivity, NO3 -, and NH4 +) and performance of 4 target species (Dactylis hispanica, Melilotus neapolitana, Petrorhagia velutina, and Phleum subulatum). Plant growth and survival were affected by soil history in species-specific ways, showing a high variability of both parameters, with survival ranging from 100% to 0%. Soil history did not affect soil pH and conductivity but dramatically changed the availability of mineral nitrogen forms. However, for all plant species, growth and survival results were unrelated to the measured soil characters. Other factors, such as accumulation of allelopathic compounds and/or changes in soil microbial communities, may explain the observed effects. The experimental results, demonstrating a widespread occurrence of plant-soil feedback, show the importance of this process also in species-rich herbaceous Mediterranean vegetation.

https://doi.org/10.2478/v10120-012-0007-2
PDF

References

Bever J., Westover M., Antonavics J. 1997. Incorporating the soil community into plant population dynamics: the utility of the feedback approach. J. Ecol. 85: 561-573.

Bonanomi G., Antignani V., Pane C., Scala F. 2007. Suppression of soilborne fungal diseases with organic amendments. J. Plant Path. 89: 311-340.

Bonanomi G., Giannino F., Mazzoleni S. 2005. Negative plant-soil feedback and species coexistence. Oikos 111: 311-321.

Bonanomi G., Incerti G., Barile E., Capodilupo M., Antignani V., Mingo A., Lanzotti V., Scala F., Mazzoleni S. 2011. Phytotoxicity, not nitrogen immobilization, explains plant litter inhibitory effects: evidence from solid-state 13C NMR spectroscopy. New Phytol. 191: 1018-1030.

Bonanomi G., Mazzoleni S. 2005. Soil history affects plant growth and competitive ability in herbaceous species. Community Ecol. 6: 23-28.

Bonanomi G., Rietkerk M., Dekk er S. C., Mazzoleni S. 2008. Islands of fertility induce negative and positive plant-soil feedbacks promoting coexistence. Plant Ecol. 197: 207-218.

Bonanomi G., Sicurezza M. G., Caporaso S., Esposito A., Mazzoleni S. 2006. Phytotoxicity dynamics of decaying plant materials. New Phytol. 169: 571-578.

Castaldi S., Aragosa D. 2002. Factors influencing nitrification and denitrification variability in a natural and fire-disturbed Mediterranean shrubland. Biol. Fert. Soils 36: 418-425.

Ehrenfeld J. G., Ravit B., Elgersma K. 2005. Feedback in the plant-soil system. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 30: 75-115.

Hodge H. 2004. The plastic plant: root responses to heterogeneous supplies of nutrients. New Phytol. 162: 9-24.

Huston M. A. 1994. Biological diversity: the coexistence of species on changing landscape. Cambridge Univ. Press.

Kardol P., Bezemer T. M., van der Putten W. H. 2006. Temporal variation in plant-soil feedback controls succession. Ecol. Lett. 9: 1080-1088.

Klironomos J. N. 2002. Feedback with soil biota contributes to plant rarity and invasiveness in communities. Nature 417: 67-70.

Klironomos J. N. 2003. Variation in plant response to native and exotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Ecology 84: 2292-2301.

Kulmatiski A., Beard K. H., Stevens J. R., Cobbold S. M. 2008. Plant-soil feedbacks: a meta-analytical review. Ecol. Lett. 11: 980-992.

Larson J. L., Siemann E. 1998. Legumes may be symbiont-limited during old-field succession. Am. Midl. Nat. 140: 90-95.

Mao J., Yang L., Shi Y., Hu J., Piao Z., Mei L., Yin S. 2006. Crude extract of Astragalus mongholicus root inhibits crop seed germination and soil nitrifying activity. Soil Biol. Biochem. 38: 201-208.

Mazzoleni S., Bonanomi G., Giannino F., Rietkerk M., Dekk er, S. C., Zucconi F. 2007. Is plant biodiversity driven by decomposition processes? An emerging new theory on plant diversity. Community Ecol. 8: 103-109.

Neumann G., Martinoia E. 2002. Cluster roots: an underground adaptation for survival in extreme environments. Trends Plant Sci. 7: 162-167.

Packer A., Clay K. 2000. Soil pathogens and spatial patterns of seedling mortality in a temperate tree. Nature 404: 278-280.

Petermann J. S., Fergus A. J. F., Turnbull L. A., Schmid B. 2008. Janzen-Connell effects are widespread and strong enough to maintain diversity in grasslands. Ecology 89: 2399-2406.

Rietkerk M., Dekker S. C., de Ruiter P. C., van de Koppel J. 2004. Self-organized patchiness and catastrophic shifts in ecosystems. Science 305: 1926-1929.

Rice E. L. 1984. Allelophathy. London, UK: Academic Press.

Ris Lambers J. H., Clark J. S., Beckage B. 2002. Density-dependent mortality and the latitudinal gradient in species diversity. Nature 417: 732-735.

Tilman D. 1988. Plant strategies and the dynamics and structure of plant communities. Princeton University Press.

Tilman D., Pacala S. 1993. The maintenance of species richness in plant communities. In: Species diversity in ecological communities (Ricklefs R. E., Schulter D., Eds), pp. 13-25, Univ. of Chicago Press.

Van der Putten W. H., Van Dijk C., Peters B. A. M. 1993. Plant-specific soil-borne diseases contribute to succession in foredune vegetation. Nature 362: 53-56.