Plant–Soil Interactions

Plant–Soil Interactions

In a project led by my PhD colleague Dr. Terhi Hahl we assessed in greenhouse experiments whether soil community history and plant selection history interact. Specifically, we looked at interactions between plants and mutualistic soil organisms (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) as well as other microbes. The corresponding paper is published in Functional ecology.
Link to the publication

We were furthermore interested how both plant diversity and co-selection between plants and their associated soil microbiota can shape the microbiome of the plant rhizosphere. In a paper led by my collaborators Dr. Marc Schmid and Dr. Terhi Hahl we found that the bacterial community composition was influenced mostly by plant identity but also by soil legacy effects. The results are published in Molecular Ecology.
Link to the publication

Finally, we also assessed bacterial and fungal community composition in the soils of our experimental plots in the Jena Experiment using 16S and ITS sequencing. Soil microbial diversity was positively but weakly associated with plant diversity, with the strongest difference in microbial diversity between plant monocultures and any community of more than one plant species. Particular plant community compositions were associated with particular microbial community compositions. Soil legacy (old soil) increased soil bacterial richness and evenness more strongly than did plant community age. Plant community age (old plant communities) significantly affected the abundance of 10% of fungal OTUs. Some of the effects of soil legacy on bacterial and fungal diversity were indirect via changes in soil abiotic and biotic properties. Our findings suggest that as experimental ecosystems develop over time, plant communities associate with specific microbiomes and plant species associate with specific soil microbial species. This paper was published in Journal of Ecology in 2021. The is fully open access and can be read here!