RETRACTION: Native Plant Diversity Generates Microbial Legacies That Either Promote or Suppress Non-Natives,...

Z. Tao, K. Zhang, R.M. Callaway, E. Siemann, Y. Liu, and W. Huang, "Native Plant Diversity Generates Microbial Legacies That Either Promote or Suppress Non-Natives, Depending on Drought History," Ecology Letters 27, no. 9 (2024): e14504, https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14504. The above article, published online on 2 October 2024 in Wiley Online Library (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor-in-Chief, Peter H. Thrall; and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Concerns about the data were raised by one of the journal editors. Following publication, the editors identified unusual repetitive patterns in the data underlying the study. The editors concluded that the patterns, identified using common statistical analysis tools, were unlikely to have occurred by chance from a typical environmental data collection effort. When asked about the concerns, the authors shared some raw data but were unable to provide a satisfactory explanation to the editors for the patterns in the published data that the editors could not reconcile with the study's conclusions. When later presented with the possibility of retraction and a draft retraction statement, the authors disagreed strongly and provided a detailed rebuttal of the editors' assessment. They argued in part that the software tools the editors used to identify the duplication patterns had not been peer reviewed or otherwise validated. As part of an extensive investigation of the authors' rebuttal claims, the publisher consulted an anonymous and independent subject matter expert (SME), who confirmed the findings of the editors and noted that the repetitive patterns observed in the underlying data were inconsistent with the reliability required to support the article's conclusions. As a result of the post-publication review by the SME, the editors affirm that they have lost confidence in the results and conclusions. In line with the journal's editorial policies, the editors determined that unresolved concerns regarding data reliability warranted retraction. The authors disagree with the retraction.