How plant–soil feedbacks influence the next generation of plants

Abstract

In response to environmental conditions, plants can alter the performance of the next generation through maternal effects. Since plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) influence soil conditions, PSFs likely create such intergenerational effects. We grew monocultures of three grass and three forb species in outdoor mesocosms. We then grew one of the six species, Hypochaeris radicata, in the conditioned soils and collected their seeds. We measured seed weight, carbon and nitrogen concentration, germination and seedling performance when grown on a common soil. We did not detect functional group intergenerational effects, but soils conditioned by different plant species affected H. radicata seed C to N ratios. There was a relationship between parent biomass in the differently conditioned soils and the germination rates of the offspring. However, these effects did not change offspring performance on a common soil. Our findings show that PSF effects changed seed quality and initial performance in a common grassland forb. We discuss the implications of our findings for multi-generational plant-soil interactions, and highlight the need to further explore how PSF effects shape plant community dynamics over different generations and across a broad range of species and functional groups.

Legacy Effects of Phytoremediation on Plant-Associated Prokaryotic Communities in Remediated Subarctic Soil Historically Contaminated with Petroleum Hydrocarbons

“…5 and 6 ). Several recent studies indicated that soil legacy, including the microorganisms originating from past vegetation, influences the succession of the next generations of plants by altering the germination rate and plant growth ( 51 – 53 ). We thus hypothesize that the transfer of potentially beneficial microorganisms among different generations of plants could be important in contaminated soils, including those in extreme environments.…”

Plant history and soil history jointly influence the selection environment for plant species in a long‐term grassland biodiversity experiment

“…Another factor can be maternal effects: The phenotype of plants is dependent on the conditions which the mother has experienced (Herman & Sultan, 2011;De Long et al, 2019;De Long et al, 2020).…”

“…(2019). In addition to this, the lower performance of plants in away‐same than in home soil highlights that both plant species diversity and plant species composition determine plant–soil feedback effects and thus the selection environment (De Long et al., 2020; He & Lamont, 2010). Nevertheless, we can only speculate about the exact reasons for the home advantage.…”

“…Another factor can be maternal effects: The phenotype of plants is dependent on the conditions which the mother has experienced (Herman & Sultan, 2011; De Long et al, 2019; De Long et al., 2020). This happens through the provisioning of maternally derived substances, such as nutrients, defensive chemicals, or hormones to the seeds (Herman & Sultan, 2011).…”

Light condition experienced by parent plants influences the response of offspring to light via both parental effects and soil legacy effects

“…Parental effects and soil legacy effects resulting from environment changes are most likely to act simultaneously in mediating plant performance and plant community dynamics (De Long et al, 2021). However, parental effects and soil legacy effects are typically tested independently, and we lack the knowledge on how they may interact to influence plant performance (but see De Long et al, 2019, 2021).…”