Abstract
Aims
Plant-soil interactions are important drivers of plant productivity and community structure. Biocrusts – soil surface-dwelling biotic communities comprised of cyanobacteria, fungi, bryophytes, and/or lichens - are widespread in drylands globally. Biocrusts are described as “mantles of fertility” and have been shown to have facilitative, but species-specific effects on plant productivity. Yet, patterns and mechanisms underlying biocrust facilitation of plant productivity remain unclear.
Methods
Using mesocosms with bare soil versus biocrust cover we investigated the effects of biocrusts on plant biomass allocation, leaf chemistry and colonization by root-associated fungi.
Results
Plant responses to biocrust presence were species-specific. Overall, biocrusts were associated with increased plant biomass and/or leaf N concentrations in Elymus elymoides, Bouteloua gracilis and Zea mays. However, plants grown in biocrusts had lower root-associated fungal colonization compared to bare soils.
Conclusions
Biocrusts were associated with increased plant biomass and leaf N. Yet, plant growth responses to biocrusts were not correlated with differences in root-associated fungal colonization between soil mesocosm types. Understanding species-specificity in biocrust facilitation of plant growth may have important implications for understanding plant community structure in dryland ecosystems.
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Acknowledgements
This work was made possible by the support of Dr. Mark Miller and other U.S. National Park Service staff in Moab, UT who provided critical assistance with site permitting and access in Canyonlands National Park. We would like to thank Tyler Turk for her assistance with soil sample collection in the field, Lindsey Foust and Luke Lemons for their help with experimental monitoring and data collection in the lab and greenhouse, and Dr. Jane Zelikova for her logistical support conducting leaf elemental analysis. We would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers and the subject editor who provided helpful comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. Undergraduate research assistants who contributed to this work were generously supported by the University of Colorado Research Opportunities Program (UROP) and Biological Sciences Initiative (BSI). This research was also supported by a University of Colorado Boulder Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Maxy Pope Award and by a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (Grant DGE 1144083).
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CAH designed the study, performed data analysis, designed figures, wrote the first draft of the manuscript. ADL and JDB assisted with experiments and data collection. CAH, ADL, JDB, and NNB contributed to writing and editing the manuscript.
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Havrilla, C., Leslie, A.D., Di Biase, J.L. et al. Biocrusts are associated with increased plant biomass and nutrition at seedling stage independently of root-associated fungal colonization. Plant Soil 446, 331–342 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04306-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04306-4