Diversity-conditioned soil strengthens plant diversity-productivity relationship.
Abstract
enThis link goes to a English sectionzhThis link goes to a English section How biodiversity affects terrestrial productivity is important to the maintenance of ecosystem services under global change. Although the crucial role of plant-soil feedbacks (PSF) in determining diversity-productivity relationship has been increasingly recognized in recent years, its legacy effects on subsequent diversity-productivity relationship are still unclear. We conducted a classic PSF experiment to assess how plant diversity-conditioned soils influenced subsequent plant diversity-productivity relationships, where three plant diversity levels (1, 4 and 8 species) were planted in soils conditioned at three diversity levels (conditioned by 1, 4 and 8 species for 3 years). In addition, to test the role of soil microbial diversity in mediating the effects of soil conditioning diversity, the three plant diversity levels were planted with low, moderate and high soil biodiversity created by a soil inoculum dilution. The results showed that plant productivities were promoted by mixed-conditioned soils (4 and 8 species) comparing to mono-conditioned soils (1 species). Productivity was positively related to planted diversity in mixed-conditioned soils, while showed no relation with planted diversity in mono-conditioned soils. Productivity was promoted by soil biodiversity when 4 and 8 species were mixed planted, while did not change when 1 species was planted.