Ecosystem feedbacks contribute to geographic variation in plant–soil eco‐evolutionary dynamics across a fertility gradient

Plant species that occur in different soil nutrient environments often vary in plant functional traits that affect soil nutrient cycling, creating positive feedbacks that reinforce nutrient availability. Variation in such nutrient feedbacks could affect plant fitness, but few studies have explored t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Functional ecology 2019-01, Vol.33 (1), p.95-106
Main Authors: Van Nuland, Michael E., Ware, Ian M., Bailey, Joseph K., Schweitzer, Jennifer A., Brunner, Franziska
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
above‐/below‐ground linkages
Adaptation
Biological evolution
Divergence
Ecosystems
eco‐evolutionary dynamics
Evolution
Fitness
Genetic diversity
intraspecific variation
local adaptation
Microbial activity
Microorganisms
Nutrient availability
Nutrient cycles
Nutrient dynamics
nutrient feedback
Nutrients
Organic chemistry
Plant populations
plant–soil interactions
Populations
Reproductive fitness
Soil chemistry
Soil dynamics
Soil fertility
Soil investigations
soil microbial communities
Soil nutrients
Soil structure
Soil testing
Species
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Summary:Plant species that occur in different soil nutrient environments often vary in plant functional traits that affect soil nutrient cycling, creating positive feedbacks that reinforce nutrient availability. Variation in such nutrient feedbacks could affect plant fitness, but few studies have explored the eco‐evolutionary dynamics of within‐species nutrient feedbacks, and the role that soil communities may play in mediating plant evolutionary responses. We investigated whether a widespread Populus species regulates soil fertility, resulting in positive nutrient feedbacks that influence population divergence. Here, we combined field observations, a reciprocal transplant experiment, and soil community sequencing to test how nutrient feedbacks might facilitate plant adaptation to soil environments. We find that: (1) Plant populations exist along a soil fertility gradient in the field and display trait variation consistent with positive nutrient feedbacks, (2) populations assemble distinct soil prokaryotic communities that are structured by soil chemistry, (3) populations show inconsistent patterns of local adaptation to their soil communities, however (4) genetic variation in plant–soil interactions reinforces soil nutrient differences. Soil communities may mediate variation in plant adaptation across a soil fertility gradient such that plant–soil interactions reinforce positive nutrient feedbacks. Identifying the eco‐evolutionary links between plant trait variation, soil nutrients and microbial communities demonstrates that plants modify and adapt to soil environments. These results support the hypothesis that eco‐evolutionary feedbacks may result when plant–soil interactions (eco) affect ecosystem‐level processes that sustain population‐level feedbacks and selective gradients (evo). A plain language summary is available for this article. Plain Language Summary
ISSN:0269-8463
1365-2435
DOI:10.1111/1365-2435.13259