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Dryad

Interactions between soil microbes and native species drive a diversity-invasibility relationship

Cite this dataset

Wang, Xiao-Yan et al. (2023). Interactions between soil microbes and native species drive a diversity-invasibility relationship [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.4qrfj6qcr

Abstract

Soil microbes can affect both the invasiveness of exotic plants and the invasibility of native plant communities, but it still remains unclear whether soil microbes can influence the relationship between native plant species diversity and community invasibility. We constructed native plant communities with three levels of species richness (one, three, or six species) in un-sterilized or sterilized soil (i.e., with or without soil microbes) and let them not be invaded by exotic plant species or invaded by one of three exotic species (Solidago canadensis, Erigeron canadensis or Symphyotrichum subulatum) highly invasive in China. The soils conditioned by the native plant communities not invaded by the exotic species were used as soil microbe inocula to test whether richness-induced differences in soil microbes affect the growth of each of the three invasive species. Compared with the presence of soil microbes, the absence of soil microbes weakened the negative species richness-invasibility relationship, indicating that soil microbes can contribute to the higher invasion resistance of more diverse native plant communities. In the presence of soil microbes, the higher invasion resistance of more diverse communities was mainly ascribed to the complementarity effect. However, soil microbes from communities with a higher species richness did not have a stronger negative effect on the growth of any of the three invasive species. We conclude that soil microbes can alter the diversity-invasibility relationship through promoting the complementarity effect on the community invasion resistance. Our results highlight the importance to integrate the role of soil microbes in testing the diversity-invasibility hypothesis.

Usage notes

Exp1: Colume D-M for plot with invasive species Solidago canadensis(SC)

          Colume N-W for plot with invasive species Erigeron canadensis(EC)

          Colume X-G for plot with invasive species Symphyotrichum subulatum(SS)

Exp2: Colume AH-AO

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China, Award: 31870504

Basic Public Welfare Research Projects of Zhejiang Province, Award: LGN19C150004

Outstanding Youth Program of Taizhou University, Award: 2017JQ005

National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program for College Students, Award: 202010350035

National Natural Science Foundation of China, Award: LY22C030001

Science and Technology Plan Project of Taizhou, Award: 21hba02

National Natural Science Foundation of China, Award: 41671254

National Natural Science Foundation of China, Award: 317611123001

Outstanding Youth Program of Taizhou University, Award: 2019JQ005

National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program for College Students, Award: 202110350025

National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program for College Students, Award: 202110350024

National Natural Science Foundation of China, Award: LTY22C030004