Community-level interactions between plants and soil biota during range expansion

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Plant-soil interactions
• Climate change ecology

Background:

• Plant species expanding their ranges due to climate change encounter novel soil communities.
• Intra-continental range expanders' interactions with soil communities are understudied, particularly at the community level.
• Previous research indicates plants are less hindered by soils from new ranges than original ones.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if plant-soil interactions change during intra-continental range expansion.
• To determine how soil communities (bacteria, fungi, nematodes) are shaped by range-expanding and native plants.
• To assess the impact of these soil communities on subsequent plant growth.

Main Methods:

• A plant-soil feedback experiment was conducted using range-expanding and native plant communities.
• Soils were conditioned by plant communities from the original and new ranges of expanders.
• Bacterial, fungal, and nematode communities were analyzed using high-throughput sequencing and microscopy.
• Above-ground biomass of subsequent plant communities was measured.

Main Results:

• Soil bacterial, fungal, and nematode communities differed based on soil origin and the plant communities that conditioned them.
• Soil origin did not significantly affect the biomass production of plant communities.
• Both native and range-expanding plant communities showed maximal growth in soils conditioned by distantly related plant communities.
• Range-expanding plant communities successfully shaped distinct soil communities in both original and new soil ranges.

Conclusions:

• Range-expanding plant species actively modify soil microbial and nematode communities in both their native and newly colonized areas.
• Plant-soil interactions experienced by range expanders within communities can be analogous to those of closely related native plant species.
• Understanding these plant-soil feedbacks is crucial for predicting the success and ecological impact of species range shifts.