Plant and root endophyte assembly history: interactive effects on native and exotic plants

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Issue Date
2016-02Author
Sikes, Benjamin A.
Hawkes, Christine V.
Fukami, Tadashi
Publisher
Ecological Society of America
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, publisher version
Rights
© 2016 by the Ecological Society of America
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Show full item recordAbstract
Differences in the arrival timing of plants and soil biota may result in different plant communities through priority effects, potentially affecting the success of native vs. exotic plants, but experimental evidence is largely lacking. We conducted a greenhouse experiment to investigate whether the assembly history of plants and fungal root endophytes could interact to influence plant emergence and biomass. We introduced a grass species and eight fungal species from one of three land-use types (undisturbed,
disturbed, or pasture sites in a Florida scrubland) in factorial combinations. We then introduced all plants and fungi from the other land-use types 2 weeks later. Plant emergence was monitored for 6 months, and final plant biomass and fungal species composition
assessed. The emergence and growth of the exotic Melinis repens and the native Schizacharyium niveum were affected negatively when introduced early with their “home” fungi, but early introduction of a different plant species or fungi from a different site type
eliminated these negative effects, providing evidence for interactive priority effects. Interactive effects of plant and fungal arrival history may be an overlooked determinant of plant community structure and may provide an effective management tool to inhibit biological invasion and aid ecosystem restoration.
Description
Funded by Society for Conservation Biology; National Research Initiative of the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service; Terman Fellowship of Stanford University
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Citation
Sikes, B. A., Hawkes, C. V., & Fukami, T. (2016). Plant and root endophyte assembly history: interactive effects on native and exotic plants. Ecology, 97(2), 484-493. doi:10.1890/15-0635.1
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