Document Type
Article
Language
eng
Publication Date
8-7-2015
Publisher
Royal Society
Source Publication
Proceedings of the Royal Society B : Biological Sciences
Source ISSN
0962-8452
Abstract
Plant species leave a chemical signature in the soils below them, generating fine-scale spatial variation that drives ecological processes. Since the publication of a seminal paper on plant-mediated soil heterogeneity by Paul Zinke in 1962, a robust literature has developed examining effects of individual plants on their local environments (individual plant effects). Here, we synthesize this work using meta-analysis to show that plant effects are strong and pervasive across ecosystems on six continents. Overall, soil properties beneath individual plants differ from those of neighbours by an average of 41%. Although the magnitudes of individual plant effects exhibit weak relationships with climate and latitude, they are significantly stronger in deserts and tundra than forests, and weaker in intensively managed ecosystems. The ubiquitous effects of plant individuals and species on local soil properties imply that individual plant effects have a role in plant–soil feedbacks, linking individual plants with biogeochemical processes at the ecosystem scale.
Recommended Citation
Waring, Bonnie G.; Álvarez-Cansino, Leonor; Barry, Kathryn E.; Becklund, Kristen K.; Dale, Sarah; Gei, Maria G.; Keller, Adrienne B.; Lopez, Omar R.; Markesteijn, Lars; Mangan, Scott A.; Riggs, Charlotte E.; Rodríguez-Ronderos, Maria Elizabeth; Segnitz, R. Max; Schnitzer, Stefan A.; and Powers, Jennifer S., "Pervasive and strong effects of plants on soil chemistry: a meta-analysis of individual plant ‘Zinke’ effects" (2015). Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications. 718.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/bio_fac/718
Comments
Accepted version. Proceedings of the Royal Society B : Biological Sciences, Vol. 282, No. 1812 (August 7, 2015). DOI. © 2015 Royal Society. Used with permission.