Abstract
Maternal effects (i.e. trans‐generational plasticity) and soil legacies generated by drought and plant diversity can affect plant performance and alter nutrient cycling and plant community dynamics. However, the relative importance and combined effects of these factors on plant growth dynamics remain poorly understood.We used soil and seeds from an existing plant diversity and drought manipulation field experiment in temperate grassland to test maternal, soil drought and diversity legacy effects, and their interactions, on offspring plant performance of two grassland species (Alopecurus pratensis and Holcus lanatus) under contrasting glasshouse conditions.Our results showed that drought soil legacy effects eclipsed maternal effects on plant biomass. Drought soil legacy effects were attributed to changes in both abiotic (i.e. nutrient availability) and biotic soil properties (i.e. microbial carbon and enzyme activity), as well as plant root and shoot atom 15N excess. Further, plant tissue nutrient concentrations and soil microbial C:N responses to drought legacies varied between the two plant species and soils from high and low plant diversity treatments. However, these diversity effects did not affect plant root or shoot biomass.These findings demonstrate that while maternal effects resulting from drought occur in grasslands, their impacts on plant performance are likely minor relative to drought legacy effects on soil abiotic and biotic properties. This suggests that soil drought legacy effects could become increasingly important drivers of plant community dynamics and ecosystem functioning as extreme weather events become more frequent and intense with climate change. A plain language summary is available for this article.
Highlights
Plant performance can be directly affected by several environmental factors, including temperature, precipitation and nutrient availability
These results suggest that drought soil legacy effects, which are likely to increase in extent and relative strength with climate change, have stronger impacts on plant performance than drought maternal effects
Shoot %C was higher in A. pratensis than H. lanatus when seeds came from ambient and drought maternal origin and were grown in drought legacy soils, but this effect disappeared when seeds came from ambient maternal origin and were grown in ambient legacy soils
Summary
Plant performance can be directly affected by several environmental factors, including temperature, precipitation and nutrient availability. The legacy effects of drought can lead to nutrient pulses once soils are rewetted and cause lasting changes in soil microbial communities (Birch, 1958; Bloor & Bardgett, 2012; Evans & Wallenstein, 2012; Leitner et al, 2017). These changes can lead to altered plant–soil feedbacks and plant competitive interactions (Kaisermann et al, 2017). Soil legacy effects could affect plant species dominance and ecosystem functioning
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
