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1. Diversity‐dependent plant–soil feedbacks underlie long‐term plant diversity effects on primary productivity

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2704  

   Guerrero‐Ramírez, Nathaly R.; Reich, Peter B.; Wagg, Cameron; Ciobanu, Marcel; Eisenhauer, Nico (April 2019, Ecosphere)

   Abstract Although diversity‐dependent plant–soil feedbacks (PSFs) may contribute significantly to plant diversity effects on ecosystem functioning, the influences of underlying abiotic and biotic mechanistic pathways have been little explored to date. Here, we assessed such pathways with a PSF experiment using soil conditioned for ≥12 yr from two grassland biodiversity experiments. Model plant communities differing in plant species and functional group richness (current plant diversity treatment) were grown in soils conditioned by plant communities with either low‐ or high‐diversity (soil history treatment). Our results indicate that plant diversity can modify plant productivity through both diversity‐mediated plant–plant and plant–soil interactions, with the main driver (current plant diversity or soil history) differing with experimental context. Structural equation modeling suggests that the underlying mechanisms of PSFs were explained to a significant extent by both abiotic and biotic pathways (specifically, soil nitrogen availability and soil nematode richness). Thus, effects of plant diversity loss on plant productivity may persist or even increase over time because of biotic and abiotic soil legacy effects. 

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2. Foliar fungi and plant diversity drive ecosystem carbon fluxes in experimental prairies

   https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13663  

   Kohli, Mayank; Henning, Jeremiah A.; Borer, Elizabeth T.; Kinkel, Linda; Seabloom, Eric W.; Comita, ed., Liza (December 2020, Ecology Letters)

   Abstract Plant diversity and plant–consumer/pathogen interactions likely interact to influence ecosystem carbon fluxes but experimental evidence is scarce. We examined how experimental removal of foliar fungi, soil fungi and arthropods from experimental prairies planted with 1, 4 or 16 plant species affected instantaneous rates of carbon uptake (GPP), ecosystem respiration (R_e) and net ecosystem exchange (NEE). Increasing plant diversity increased plant biomass, GPP and R_e, but NEE remained unchanged. Removing foliar fungi increased GPP and NEE, with the greatest effects at low plant diversity. After accounting for plant biomass, we found that removing foliar fungi increased mass‐specific flux rates in the low‐diversity plant communities by altering plant species composition and community‐wide foliar nitrogen content. However, this effect disappeared when soil fungi and arthropods were also removed, demonstrating that both plant diversity and interactions among consumer groups determine the ecosystem‐scale effects of plant–fungal interactions. 

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3. Plant sex influences on riparian communities and ecosystems

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10308  

   Scheuerell, River P.; LeRoy, Carri J. (July 2023, Ecology and Evolution)

   Abstract Over the past several decades, we have increased our understanding of the influences of plant genetics on associated communities and ecosystem functions. These influences have been shown at both broad spatial scales and across many plant families, creating an active subdiscipline of ecology research focused on genes‐to‐ecosystems connections. One complex aspect of plant genetics is the distinction between males and females in dioecious plants. The genetic determinants of plant sex are poorly understood for most plants, but the influences of plant sex on morphological, physiological, and chemical plant traits are well‐studied. We argue that these plant traits, controlled by plant sex, may have wide‐reaching influences on both terrestrial and aquatic communities and ecosystem processes, particularly for riparian plants. Here we systematically review the influences of plant sex on plant traits, influences of plant traits on terrestrial community members, and how interactions between plant traits and terrestrial community members can influence terrestrial ecosystem functions in riparian forests. We then extend these influences into adjacent aquatic ecosystem functions and aquatic communities to explore how plant sex might influence linked terrestrial‐aquatic systems as well as the physical structure of riparian systems. This review highlights data gaps in empirical studies exploring the direct influences of plant sex on communities and ecosystems but draws inference from community and ecosystem genetics. Overall, this review highlights how variation by plant sex has implications for climate change adaptations in riparian habitats, the evolution and range shifts of riparian species and the methods used for conserving and restoring riparian systems. 

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4. Phytocytokines function as immunological modulators of plant immunity

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s44154-021-00009-y  

   Hou, Shuguo; Liu, Derui; He, Ping (December 2021, Stress Biology)

   Abstract Plant plasma membrane-resident immune receptors regulate plant immunity by recognizing microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs), damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), and phytocytokines. Phytocytokines are plant endogenous peptides, which are usually produced in the cytosol and released into the apoplast when plant encounters pathogen infections. Phytocytokines regulate plant immunity through activating an overlapping signaling pathway with MAMPs/DAMPs with some unique features. Here, we highlight the current understanding of phytocytokine production, perception and functions in plant immunity, and discuss how plants and pathogens manipulate phytocytokine signaling for their own benefits during the plant-pathogen warfare. 

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5. The positive effect of plant diversity on soil carbon depends on climate

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42340-0  

   Spohn, Marie; Bagchi, Sumanta; Biederman, Lori A.; Borer, Elizabeth T.; Bråthen, Kari Anne; Bugalho, Miguel N.; Caldeira, Maria C.; Catford, Jane A.; Collins, Scott L.; Eisenhauer, Nico; et al (October 2023, Nature Communications)

   Abstract Little is currently known about how climate modulates the relationship between plant diversity and soil organic carbon and the mechanisms involved. Yet, this knowledge is of crucial importance in times of climate change and biodiversity loss. Here, we show that plant diversity is positively correlated with soil carbon content and soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio across 84 grasslands on six continents that span wide climate gradients. The relationships between plant diversity and soil carbon as well as plant diversity and soil organic matter quality (carbon-to-nitrogen ratio) are particularly strong in warm and arid climates. While plant biomass is positively correlated with soil carbon, plant biomass is not significantly correlated with plant diversity. Our results indicate that plant diversity influences soil carbon storage not via the quantity of organic matter (plant biomass) inputs to soil, but through the quality of organic matter. The study implies that ecosystem management that restores plant diversity likely enhances soil carbon sequestration, particularly in warm and arid climates. 

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