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Updated: Apr 21, 2026

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity
Published on: March 13, 2014
Phylogenetic conservatism in plant-soil feedback and its implications for plant abundance
Brian L Anacker1, John N Klironomos, Hafiz Maherali
1Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
Abstract:
We examined whether plant-soil feedback and plant-field abundance were phylogenetically conserved. For 57 co-occurring native and exotic plant species from an old field in Canada, we collected a data set on the effects of three soil biota treatments on plant growth: net whole-soil feedback (combined effects of mutualists and antagonists), feedback with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) collected from soils of conspecific plants, and feedback with Glomus etunicatum, a dominant mycorrhizal fungus. We found phylogenetic signal in both net whole-soil feedback and feedback with AMF of conspecifics; conservatism was especially strong among native plants but absent among exotics. The abundance of plants in the field was also conserved, a pattern underlain by shared plant responses to soil biota. We conclude that soil biota influence the abundance of close plant relatives in nature.
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