Soil microbes drive the classic plant diversity–productivity pattern

Authors

Stefan A. Schnitzer, Marquette UniversityFollow
John Klironomos, University of British ColumbiaFollow
Janneke HilleRisLambers, University of Washington
Linda L. Kinkel, University of Minnesota
Peter B. Reich, University of MinnesotaFollow
Kun Xiao, University of Minnesota
Matthias C. Rillig, Freie Universitaet Berlin
Benjamin A. Sikes, University of Texas
Ragan M. Callaway, University of Montana
Scott A. Mangan, University of Wisconsin – MilwaukeeFollow
Egbert H. van Nes, Wageningen University
Marten Scheffer, Wageningen University

Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Publication Date

2-2011

Publisher

Ecological Society of America

Source Publication

Ecology

Source ISSN

0012-9658

Abstract

Ecosystem productivity commonly increases asymptotically with plant species diversity, and determining the mechanisms responsible for this well‐known pattern is essential to predict potential changes in ecosystem productivity with ongoing species loss. Previous studies attributed the asymptotic diversity–productivity pattern to plant competition and differential resource use (e.g., niche complementarity). Using an analytical model and a series of experiments, we demonstrate theoretically and empirically that host‐specific soil microbes can be major determinants of the diversity–productivity relationship in grasslands. In the presence of soil microbes, plant disease decreased with increasing diversity, and productivity increased nearly 500%, primarily because of the strong effect of density‐dependent disease on productivity at low diversity. Correspondingly, disease was higher in plants grown in conspecific‐trained soils than heterospecific‐trained soils (demonstrating host‐specificity), and productivity increased and host‐specific disease decreased with increasing community diversity, suggesting that disease was the primary cause of reduced productivity in species‐poor treatments. In sterilized, microbe‐free soils, the increase in productivity with increasing plant species number was markedly lower than the increase measured in the presence of soil microbes, suggesting that niche complementarity was a weaker determinant of the diversity–productivity relationship. Our results demonstrate that soil microbes play an integral role as determinants of the diversity–productivity relationship.

Comments

Published version. Ecology, Vol. 92, No. 2 (February, 2011): 296-303. DOI. © 2011 Ecological Society of America. Used with permission.

Stefan A. Schnitzer was affiliated with University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee at the time of publication.

Recommended Citation

Schnitzer, Stefan A.; Klironomos, John; HilleRisLambers, Janneke; Kinkel, Linda L.; Reich, Peter B.; Xiao, Kun; Rillig, Matthias C.; Sikes, Benjamin A.; Callaway, Ragan M.; Mangan, Scott A.; van Nes, Egbert H.; and Scheffer, Marten, "Soil microbes drive the classic plant diversity–productivity pattern" (2011). Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications. 696.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/bio_fac/696