Rooting Theories of Plant Community Ecology in Microbial Interactions

Overview

Journal Trends Ecol Evol

Specialties Biology
Environmental Health

Date 2010 Jun 19

PMID 20557974

Citations 164

Authors

James D Bever

Ian A Dickie

Evelina Facelli

Jose M Facelli

John Klironomos

Mari Moora

Matthias C Rillig

William D Stock

Mark Tibbett

Martin Zobel

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Predominant frameworks for understanding plant ecology have an aboveground bias that neglects soil micro-organisms. This is inconsistent with recent work illustrating the importance of soil microbes in terrestrial ecology. Microbial effects have been incorporated into plant community dynamics using ideas of niche modification and plant-soil community feedbacks. Here, we expand and integrate qualitative conceptual models of plant niche and feedback to explore implications of microbial interactions for understanding plant community ecology. At the same time we review the empirical evidence for these processes. We also consider common mycorrhizal networks, and propose that these are best interpreted within the feedback framework. Finally, we apply our integrated model of niche and feedback to understanding plant coexistence, monodominance and invasion ecology.

Citing Articles

The Role of Phenotypic Plasticity and Within-Environment Trait Variability in the Assembly of the Nectar Microbiome and Plant-Microbe-Animal Interactions.

Quevedo-Caraballo S, Alvarez-Perez S Ecol Evol. 2025; 15(3):e71059.

PMID: 40027422 PMC: 11872219. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.71059.

Concurrent common fungal networks formed by different guilds of fungi.

Rillig M, Lehmann A, Mounts I, Bock B New Phytol. 2025; 246(1):33-38.

PMID: 39834013 PMC: 11883043. DOI: 10.1111/nph.20418.

Plant Species Richness and the Root Economics Space Drive Soil Fungal Communities.

Hennecke J, Bassi L, Albracht C, Amyntas A, Bergmann J, Eisenhauer N Ecol Lett. 2024; 28(1):e70032.

PMID: 39737799 PMC: 11687415. DOI: 10.1111/ele.70032.

Impact of soil legacy on plant-soil feedback in grasses and legumes through beneficial and pathogenic microbiota accumulation.

Idbella M, Abd-ElGawad A, Chouyia F, Bonanomi G Front Microbiol. 2024; 15:1454617.

PMID: 39588109 PMC: 11586280. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1454617.

Garlic stalk waste and arbuscular mycorrhizae mitigate challenges in continuously monocropping eggplant obstacles by modulating physiochemical properties and fungal community structure.

Cao Y, Ghani M, Ahmad N, Bibi N, Ghafoor A, Liu J BMC Plant Biol. 2024; 24(1):1065.

PMID: 39528940 PMC: 11555963. DOI: 10.1186/s12870-024-05710-4.

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