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1. The microbiome structure of decomposing plant leaves in soil depends on plant species, soil pore sizes, and soil moisture content

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1172862  

   Benucci, Gian Maria ; Toosi, Ehsan R. ; Yang, Fan ; Marsh, Terence L. ; Bonito, Gregory M. ; Kravchenko, Alexandra ( August 2023 , Frontiers in Microbiology)

   Microbial communities are known as the primary decomposers of all the carbon accumulated in the soil. However, how important soil structure and its conventional or organic management, moisture content, and how different plant species impact this process are less understood. To answer these questions, we generated a soil microcosm with decomposing corn and soy leaves, as well as soil adjacent to the leaves, and compared it to control samples. We then used high-throughput amplicon sequencing of the ITS and 16S rDNA regions to characterize these microbiomes. Leaf microbiomes were the least diverse and the most even in terms of OTU richness and abundance compared to near soil and far soil, especially in their bacterial component. Microbial composition was significantly and primarily affected by niche (leaves vs. soil) but also by soil management type and plant species in the fungal microbiome, while moisture content and pore sizes were more important drivers for the bacterial communities. The pore size effect was significantly dependent on moisture content, but only in the organic management type. Overall, our results refine our understanding of the decomposition of carbon residues in the soil and the factors that influence it, which are key for environmental sustainability and for evaluating changes in ecosystem functions. 

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2. Predators in the plant–soil feedback loop: aboveground plant‐associated predators may alter the outcome of plant–soil interactions

   https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12931  

   Smith‐Ramesh, Lauren M. ; Cleland, ed., Elsa ( March 2018 , Ecology Letters)

   Plant–soil feedback (PSF) can structure plant communities, promoting coexistence (negativePSF) or monodominance (positivePSF). At higher trophic levels, predators can alter plant community structure by re‐allocating resources within habitats. When predator and plant species are spatially associated, predators may alter the outcome ofPSF. Here, I explore the influence of plant‐associated predators onPSFusing a generalised cellular automaton model that tracks nutrients, plants, herbivores and predators. I explore key contingencies in plant–predator associations such as whether predators associate with live vs. senesced vegetation. Results indicate that plant‐associated predators shiftPSFto favour the host plant when predators colonise live vegetation, but the outcome ofPSFwill depend upon plant dispersal distance when predators colonise dead vegetation. I apply the model to two spider‐associated invasive plants, finding that spider predators should shiftPSFdynamics in a way that inhibits invasion by one forest invader, but exacerbates invasion by another.

    

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3. Development of an experimental approach to study coupled soil-plant-atmosphere processes using plant analogs: ATMOSPHERE-SOIL-VEGETATION FEEDBACKS

   https://doi.org/10.1002/2016WR019884  

   Trautz, Andrew C. ; Illangasekare, Tissa H. ; Rodriguez-Iturbe, Ignacio ; Heck, Katharina ; Helmig, Rainer ( April 2017 , Water Resources Research)
4. Patterns of soil bacterial richness and composition tied to plant richness, soil nitrogen, and soil acidity in alpine tundra

   https://doi.org/10.1657/AAAR0016-05  

   Yuan, X. ; Knelman, J.E. ; Wang, D. ; Goebl, A. ; Gasarch, E. ; Seastedt, T.R. ( January 2017 , Arctic, antarctic, and alpine research)
5. Plant species and plant neighbor identity affect associations between plant assimilated C inputs and soil pores

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2021.115565  

   Zheng, H. ; Guber, A.K. ; Kuzyakov, Y. ; Zhang, W. ; Kravchenko, A.N. ( February 2022 , Geoderma)