Predicting microbially mediated plant coexistence is sensitive to vital rate identity and soil conditioning history
Data files
Jul 25, 2025 version files 20.59 KB
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psf_vital.csv
18.50 KB
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README.md
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Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms that maintain the coexistence of plant species is critical to addressing the global biodiversity crisis. Increasing attention has been paid to interactions between plants and soil microbes (plant-soil feedback, PSF), which can promote plant coexistence by increasing stabilizing effects, but also hinder it by generating competitive fitness differences. However, the predictive power of the PSF has been questioned in recent studies because estimates of microbially mediated coexistence have correlated poorly with the outcomes of plant interactions observed in the field. This discrepancy may be due to the approaches typically used in PSF research, such as measuring PSF effects on a single vital rate or using soil conditioned for a short time period and without considering abiotic contexts. Here, I examined the effects of soil inoculum with different training histories and training environments (with and without added nutrients) on germination, seedling survival, and biomass of four grassland species. I then examined whether predictions of microbially mediated coexistence of four species pairs were sensitive to the vital rate identity, conditioning history, and soil training environment. I found that conspecific inoculum trained for longer had increasingly positive and negative effects on germination and biomass, respectively, although the effects of inoculum history varied across species and training environments. Estimates of microbially mediated outcomes were directly related to the vital rate used: when based on biomass and seedling survival, all four pairs were predicted to coexist, but only two pairs could do so when based on germination due to much reduced or even negative stabilization. Although coexistence predictions were not significantly related to conditioning history (including the effects of both variable conditioning durations and combinations of conditioning species) or nutrient treatments, both factors had a significant effect on stabilization. These results suggest that predictions of microbially mediated coexistence may be biased when based on a single vital rate, such as plant growth. To obtain more realistic and accurate outcome estimates, PSF effects should be integrated across different life stages, considering the temporal and abiotic contexts of these effects specific to a focal study system.
Data from the test phase (greenhouse experiment from April 21, 2022, to June 9, 2022)
Author
Petr Dostál
Inst. of Botany, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Průhonice, Czech Republic
Correspondence: Petr Dostál (petr.dostal@ibot.cas.cz)
File list
psf_vital.csv
File descriptions
- psf_vital.csv - Data from the test phase
Variables:
- pot_code
- ID_focal_sp = identity of species used in the test phase
- soil_history = conspecific training histories of soils used in the test phase: i) 'continuous' type, consisting of soil trained by conspecifics in two subsequent periods (June 2015-June 2019 and July 2019-April 2022); ii) 'recent' type, when the soil was trained by conspecifics in the second period (July 2019-April 2022) but by heterospecifics in the first one; iii) 'past' type, if the soil was trained by conspecifics in the first period but by heterospecifics in the second; iv) 'no' type, if the soil was trained by heterospecifics in both periods.
- sp_comb_train = species combinations used in the two phases (June 2015-June 2019 and July 2019-April 2022) of soil training; ALO, Alopecurus pratensis; KOE, Koeleria macrantha; PLA, Plantago media; GAL, Galium mollugo; MIX – pooled inoculum of ca 40 species, but without focal species (phase 1, 2015-2019); OTHER, inoculum from Festuca pratensis, Geranium pratense, Bromus erectus or Prunella grandiflora (phase 2, 2019-2022).
- FERTIL = whether nutrients were (1) or were not (0) added in the second training phase (2019-2022)
- Nmax_germ = maximum number of seedlings in a pot recorded during six censuses (that emerged from 20 seeds added initially)
- Nsurvivals = the number of seedlings in a pot at the last census
- biomass = above-ground biomass of the largest seedling in a pot (in mg)
'n/a' = not applicable; 'n/a' is for 'Nsurvivals' when 'Nmax_germ' = 0; 'n/a' is for 'biomass' when 'Nmax_germ' = 0 or 'Nsurvivals'= 0