The Overlooked Role of Facilitation in Biodiversity Experiments

Wright, Alexandra J.; Wardle, David A.; Callaway, Ragan M.; Gaxiola, Aurora

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2017.02.011

Cited by 240 publications

(261 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Recent microcosm studies support this contention, since it was found that nutrient-mobilisation facilitation occurs and improves plant growth (Muler et al 2014;Teste et al 2014). We surmise that nutrient-mobilisation facilitation in natural ecosystems may be more common than previously thought (Li et al 2014;Wright et al 2017); this hypothesis requires more formal testing as proposed in this review (Fig. 4).…”

Section: Nutrient Mobilisation-based Facilitationsupporting

confidence: 53%

“…Three broad facilitative mechanisms have been proposed: (i) indirect biotic facilitation; (ii) abiotic facilitation leading to nutrient enrichment (belowground facilitation for soil N and P, and nutrient exchanges between plants); and (iii) classic abiotic facilitation leading to microclimate amelioration (Wright et al 2017). Here, we briefly focus on reviewing the role of abiotic facilitative mechanisms, explaining how mycorrhizal species can benefit from the carboxylate-releasing P-mobilising non-mycorrhizal plants.…”

Section: Facilitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soil nutrient enrichment that results from belowground facilitation has been well documented in ecosystems inhabited by plants whose productivity is more limited by N than by any other nutrient (Wright et al 2017). In particular, positive effects of legumes and their associated N 2 -fixing biota on local soil nutrient enrichment and the growth of neighbouring plants have been demonstrated (Vitousek et al 2013).…”

Section: Facilitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How belowground interactions contribute to the coexistence of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal species in severely phosphorus-impoverished hyperdiverse ecosystems

et al. 2017

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Background Mycorrhizal strategies are very effective in enhancing plant acquisition of poorly-mobile nutrients, particularly phosphorus (P) from infertile soil. However, on very old and severely P-impoverished soils, a carboxylate-releasing and P-mobilising cluster-root strategy is more effective at acquiring this growthlimiting resource. Carboxylates are released during a period of only a few days from ephemeral cluster roots. Despite the cluster-root strategy being superior for P acquisition in such environments, these species coexist with a wide range of mycorrhizal species, raising questions about the mechanisms contributing to their coexistence. Scope We surmise that the coexistence of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal strategies is primarily accounted for by a combination of belowground mechanisms, namely (i) facilitation of P acquisition by mycorrhizal plants from neighbouring cluster-rooted plants, and (ii) interactions between roots, pathogens and mycorrhizal fungi, which enhance the plants' defence against pathogens. Facilitation of nutrient acquisition by clusterrooted plants involves carboxylate exudation, making more P available for both themselves and their mycorrhizal neighbours. Belowground nutrient exchanges between carboxylate-exuding plants and mycorrhizal N 2 -fixing plants appear likely, but require further experimental testing to determine their nutritional and ecological relevance. Anatomical studies of roots of clusterrooted Proteaceae species show that they do not form a complete suberised exodermis. Conclusions The absence of an exodermis may well be important to rapidly release carboxylates, but likely lowers root structural defences against pathogens, Plant Soil (2018) particularly oomycetes. Conversely, roots of mycorrhizal plants may not be as effective at acquiring P when P availability is very low, but they are better defended against pathogens, and this superior defence likely involves mycorrhizal fungi. Taken together, we are beginning to understand how an exceptionally large number of plant species and P-acquisition strategies coexist on the most severely P-impoverished soils.

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Section: Nutrient Mobilisation-based Facilitationsupporting

confidence: 53%

Section: Facilitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Facilitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How belowground interactions contribute to the coexistence of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal species in severely phosphorus-impoverished hyperdiverse ecosystems

et al. 2017

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“…This shift from complementarity to dominance effects in disturbed conditions is predicted by insurance theory but is not supported by studies on living plants (Mulder et al 2001, Steudel et al 2011, Wang et al 2013, Craven et al 2016, Wright et al 2017). In particular, under HA rainfall, E. uniflora litter had a positive dominance effect, such that bromeliads that included this species had higher total decomposition.…”

Section: May 2018mentioning

confidence: 89%

Interactive effects of climate change and biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning

Pires

Srivastava

Marino

et al. 2018

Ecology

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Climate change and biodiversity loss are expected to simultaneously affect ecosystems, however research on how each driver mediates the effect of the other has been limited in scope. The multiple stressor framework emphasizes non-additive effects, but biodiversity may also buffer the effects of climate change, and climate change may alter which mechanisms underlie biodiversity-function relationships. Here, we performed an experiment using tank bromeliad ecosystems to test the various ways that rainfall changes and litter diversity may jointly determine ecological processes. Litter diversity and rainfall changes interactively affected multiple functions, but how depends on the process measured. High litter diversity buffered the effects of altered rainfall on detritivore communities, evidence of insurance against impacts of climate change. Altered rainfall affected the mechanisms by which litter diversity influenced decomposition, reducing the importance of complementary attributes of species (complementarity effects), and resulting in an increasing dependence on the maintenance of specific species (dominance effects). Finally, altered rainfall conditions prevented litter diversity from fueling methanogenesis, because such changes in rainfall reduced microbial activity by 58%. Together, these results demonstrate that the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss on ecosystems cannot be understood in isolation and interactions between these stressors can be multifaceted.

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“…Although there is now consensus among ecologists that in general monocultures perform less well than plant species mixtures (Cardinale et al 2012), the main underlying mechanisms remain debated. On one hand, ecologists have focused on plant-plant interactions, with resource partitioning and facilitation between plants as the most likely explanations for the differential plant productivity (Jesch et al 2018;Mueller et al 2013;Ravenek et al 2014;Wright et al 2017). On the other hand, interactions between plants and pathogenic soil biota have emerged as an important mechanism for the positive biodiversity effect (de Kroon et al 2012;Maron et al 2011;Mommer et al 2018;Schnitzer et al 2011).…”

Section: Agalinis Gattingeri Aletris Farinosa Gentiana Alba Liatris Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking ecology and plant pathology to unravel the importance of soil-borne fungal pathogens in species-rich grasslands

et al. 2018

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Soil-borne fungal diseases are a major problem in agriculture. A century ago, the Dutch plant pathologist Johanna Westerdijk recognized the importance of linking fungal biology with ecology to understand plant disease dynamics. To explore new ways to manage soil-borne fungal disease in agriculture by 'learning from nature', we follow in her footsteps: we link below ground plant-fungal pathogen interactions to ecological settings, i.e. natural grasslands. Ecological research hypothesised that the build-up of 'enemies' is reduced in species-rich vegetation compared to monocultures. To understand how plant diversity can suppress soilborne fungal pathogens, we first need to identify fungal actors in species-rich grasslands. Next-generation sequencing revealed a first glimpse of the potential fungal actors, but their ecological functions often remain elusive. Databases are becoming available to predict the ecological fungal guild, but classic phytopathology studies that isolate and characterize -taxonomically and functionally -, remain essential. Secondly, we need to set-up experiments that reveal ecological mechanisms underlying the complex below ground interactions between plant diversity and fungal pathogens. Several studies suggested that disease incidence of (hostspecific) pathogens is related to abundance of the host plant species. However, recent studies suggest that next to host species density, presence of heterospecific species additionally affects disease dynamics. We explore the direct and indirect ways of these neighboring plants diluting pathogen pressure. We argue that combining the expertise of plant pathologists and ecologists will improve our understanding of belowground plant-fungal pathogen interactions in natural grasslands and contribute to the design of sustainable and productive intercropping strategies in agriculture.

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The Overlooked Role of Facilitation in Biodiversity Experiments

Cited by 240 publications

References 59 publications

How belowground interactions contribute to the coexistence of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal species in severely phosphorus-impoverished hyperdiverse ecosystems

How belowground interactions contribute to the coexistence of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal species in severely phosphorus-impoverished hyperdiverse ecosystems

Interactive effects of climate change and biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning

Linking ecology and plant pathology to unravel the importance of soil-borne fungal pathogens in species-rich grasslands

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