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1. Plant–soil feedback (PSF), plant trait and functional group concepts advanced our understanding of plant community dynamics, but how they are interlinked is poorly known. 2. To test how plant functional groups (FGs: graminoids, small herbs, tall herbs, legumes) and plant traits relate to PSF, we grew 48 grassland species in sterilized soil, sterilized soil with own species soil inoculum and sterilized soil with soil inoculum from all species, and quantified relative growth rate (RGR), specific leaf area (SLA), specific root length (SRL) and per cent arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization (%AMF). 3. Plant growth response to the plant species' own soil biota relative to sterilized soil (PSFsterilized) reflects net effects of all (generalist + specialized) soil biota. Growth response to the plant species' own soil biota relative to soil biota of all plant species (PSFaway) reveals effects of more specialized soil organisms. 4. PSFsterilized showed that graminoids and small herbs have a negative and tall herbs a positive response to their own soil biota, whereas legumes responded neutrally. However, PSFaway showed that on average, all plant FGs benefitted from growing with other species' soil biota, suggesting that pathogens are more specialized than plant growth-promoting soil biota. Feedback to plant growth from all soil biota (PSFsterilized) was stronger than from more specialized soil biota (PSFaway) and could be predicted by SRL and especially by %AMF colonization. Species with high SRL and low %AMF colonization when grown in away soil experienced most negative soil feedback. 5. Synthesis. Plant species from all plant FGs grow better in soil from other species because of less net negative effects of soil biota (in graminoids), or because of more net positive soil biota effects (in tall herbs). Explorative plant species (high SRL, low %AMF colonization) suffer most from negative feedback of all soil biota, whereas more resource conservative species (low SRL, high %AMF colonization) benefit from soil feedback of all soil biota. These findings help to understand replacement of explorative species during succession. Moreover, we suggest a potentially larger role for species with positive feedback than for species with negative feedback to contribute to maintain plant community productivity of diverse communities over time.

Background and aims Naturalized alien and native plants can impact each other directly when they grow next to each other, but also indirectly through their soil legacies. These alien-native interactions can also be modified by the presence of a third alien or native species. However, it is unknown how the performance of co-growing alien and native species is affected by their soil legacies and by the presence of an additional species. Methods In our two-phase plant-soil-feedback experiment, soils were first conditioned by eight herbaceous species, four of which are naturalized and four of which are native to Germany. We then grew all 16 pairwise alien-native species combinations on soil conditioned by the respective alien or native species, on a mixture of soils conditioned by both species or on control soil. Each pair of test plants was grown on these soils without or with an additional alien or native species. Results Soil conditioning, and particularly conspecific soil conditioning, reduced growth of the alien and native test plants. The addition of another species also reduced growth of the test plants. However, the negative conspecific soil-legacy effect on alien test plants was reduced when the additional species was also alien. Conclusion The negative conspecific plant-soil feedback for alien and native plants in our study could promote their coexistence. However, as partial alleviation of negative conspecific effects on alien plants occurred with an additional alien species, the chances of coexistence of alien and native species might decrease when there are multiple alien species present.

Understanding the causes of variation in foliar plant metabolomes is essential for our understanding of ecological interactions between plants and other organisms. It is well‐accepted that foliar herbivory alters metabolites in leaves. However, soil (micro)organisms can also induce such changes. We generated plant‐specific soil legacies by growing 12 plant species individually in a common starting soil. Then we planted all plant species in all soils and exposed a subset to foliar herbivory. We then used 1H nuclear magnetic resonance to analyse the shoot metabolomes of all responding plants. Above‐ground herbivory and soil legacies altered shoot metabolomes. In most plant species, soil legacy more strongly affected shoot metabolomes than foliar herbivory. Synthesis. Our results show that plant‐induced changes in soil alter metabolomes of plants that grow later in those soils. Such below‐ground legacy effects can have far‐stretching consequences for above‐ground multitrophic interactions as these often depend on the plant chemical composition. Recently, plant–soil feedbacks have received considerable attention in ecological studies, and our study now highlights that these feedbacks can be an important determinant of the often unexplained intraspecific variation in chemical composition among plants. We show that plant‐specific soil legacies can impact the leaf metabolome of most of the 12 tested plant species. The effect of soil legacies on the metabolome is often more pronounced than the effect of herbivory. Our study highlights the importance of plant–soil feedbacks to determine the often‐unexplained intraspecific variation in chemical composition amongst plants.

Negative plant-soil feedbacks play an important role in soil sickness, which is one of the factors limiting the sustainable development of intensive agriculture. Various factors, such as the buildup of pests in the soil, disorder in physico-chemical soil properties, autotoxicity, and other unknown factors may contribute to soil sickness. A range of autotoxins have been identified, and these exhibit their allelopathic potential by influencing cell division, water and ion uptake, dark respiration, ATP synthesis, redox homeostasis, gene expression, and defense responses. Meanwhile, there are great interspecific and intraspecific differences in the uptake and accumulation of autotoxins, which contribute to the specific differences in growth in response to different autotoxins. Importantly, the autotoxins also influence soil microbes and vice versa , leading to an increased or decreased degree of soil sickness. In many cases, autotoxins may enhance soilborne diseases by predisposing the roots to infection by soilborne pathogens through a direct biochemical and physiological effect. Some approaches, such as screening for low autotoxic potential and disease-resistant genotypes, proper rotation and intercropping, proper soil and plant residue management, adoption of resistant plant species as rootstocks, introduction of beneficial microbes, physical removal of phytotoxins, and soil sterilization, are proposed. We discuss the challenges that we are facing and possible approaches to these.

• Soil microorganisms can influence the development of complex plant phenotypes, including resistance to herbivores. This microbiome-mediated plasticity may be particularly important for plant species that persist in environments with drastically changing herbivore pressure, for example over community succession. • We established a 15-yr gradient of old-field succession to examine the herbivore resistance and rhizosphere microbial communities of Solidago altissima plants in a large-scale field experiment. To assess the functional effects of these successional microbial shifts, we inoculated S. altissima plants with microbiomes from the 2nd, 6th and 15th successional years in a glasshouse and compared their herbivore resistance. • The resistance of S. altissima plants to herbivores changed over succession, with concomitant shifts in the rhizosphere microbiome. Late succession microbiomes conferred the strongest herbivore resistance to S. altissima plants in a glasshouse experiment, paralleling the low levels of herbivory observed in the oldest communities in the field. • While many factors change over succession and may contribute to the shifts in rhizosphere communities and herbivore resistance we observed, our results indicated that soil microbial shifts alone can alter plants’ interactions with herbivores. Our findings suggest that changes in soil microbial communities over succession can play an important role in enhancing plant resistance to herbivores.

1. Plants leave species-specific legacies in the soil they grow in that can represent changes in abiotic or biotic soil properties. It has been shown that such legacies can affect future plants that grow in the same soil (plant-soil feedback, PSF). Such processes have been studied in detail, but mostly on individual plants. Here, we study PSF effects at the community level and use a trait-based approach both in the conditioning phase and in the feedback phase to study how 12 individual soil legacies influence six plant communities that differ in root size. 2. We tested if (1) grassland perennial species with large root systems would leave a stronger legacy than those with small root systems, (2) grass species would leave a more positive soil legacy than forbs, and (3) communities with large root systems would be more responsive than small-rooted communities. We also tested (4) whether a leaf-chewing herbivore and a phloem feeder were affected by soil legacy effects in a community framework. 3. Our study shows that the six different plant communities that we used respond differently to soil legacies of 12 different plant species and their functional groups. Species with large root systems did not leave stronger legacies than species with small root systems, nor were communities with large root systems more responsive than communities with root systems. 4. Moreover, we show that when communities are affected by soil legacies, these effects carry over to the chewing herbivore Mamestra brassicae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) through induced behavioural changes resulting in better performance of a chewing herbivore on forb-conditioned soils than on grass-conditioned soils, whereas performance of the phloem feeder Rhopalosiphum padi (Hemiptera: Aphididae) remained unaffected. 5. Synthesis. The results of this study shed light on the variability of soil effects found in previous work on feedbacks in communities. Our study suggests that the composition of plant communities determines to a large part the response to soil legacies. Furthermore, the responses to soil legacies of herbivores feeding on the plant communities that we observed, suggests that in natural ecosystems, the vegetation history may also have an influence on contemporary herbivore assemblages. This opens up exciting new areas in plant-insect research and can have important implications for insect pest management.

Aims Soil legacies mediate interactions between native and introduced plants, contributing to both invasion and biotic resistance to invasion. Given that nitrogen deposition can promote allelochemical release, reduce the benefits of soil microbes, and affect trait plasticity, nitrogen deposition likely alters soil legacies as well. However, it is not clear how mechanisms that facilitate adaptation to soil legacies are altered by nitrogen deposition. Methods In a greenhouse setting, we investigated how an invasive and a native plant in northern China ( Rhus typhina and Ailanthus altissima , respectively) acclimate to soil legacies and how these dynamics change with nitrogen availability. We measured plant functional traits, soil microbial abundance, microbial enzyme activities, and soil allelopathic effects to characterize plant responses to soil legacies from plants of the same and of the other species. Results Rhus typhina had a stronger growth response to soil legacies than did A. altissima . Rhus typhina established a novel plant-soil feedback by increasing fungi and bacteria, changing the composition of the microbial community, and effectively transforming negative effects of soil allelopathy to positive effects. Nitrogen deposition promoted the growth of R. typhina and alleviated the negative effects of heterospecific soil legacies on the performance of R. typhina . Conclusions Invasive plants can acclimate to the soil legacies of native species through a combination of high trait plasticity, manipulating soil microbes, and establishing novel plant-soil feedbacks. Nitrogen deposition can facilitate invasive species acclimating to soil legacies by monopolizing nitrogen absorption, though this may diminish the benefit of soil microbes.

Relatively little is known about how plant–soil feedbacks (PSFs) may affect plant growth in field conditions where factors such as herbivory may be important. Using a potted experiment in a grassland, we measured PSFs with and without aboveground insect herbivory for 20 plant species. We then compared PSF values to plant landscape abundance. Aboveground herbivory had a large negative effect on PSF values. For 15 of 20 species, PSFs were more negative with herbivory than without. This occurred because plant biomass on “home” soils was smaller with herbivory than without. PSF values with herbivory were correlated with plant landscape abundance, whereas PSF values without herbivory were not. Shoot nitrogen concentrations suggested that plants create soils that increase nitrogen uptake, but that greater shoot nitrogen values increase herbivory and that the net effect of positive PSF and greater aboveground herbivory is less aboveground biomass. Results provided clear evidence that PSFs alone have limited power in explaining species abundances and that herbivory has stronger effects on plant biomass and growth on the landscape. Our results provide a potential explanation for observed differences between greenhouse and field PSF experiments and suggest that PSF experiments need to consider important biotic interactions, like aboveground herbivory, particularly when the goal of PSF research is to understand plant growth in field conditions.

Background and aims Invasive plants often alter soil abiotic and biotic conditions which can benefit their own growth while harming native species. The impacts on native species may persist as legacy effects after the invasive species has been controlled and removed. This study focused on the Critically Endangered Cumberland Plain Woodland (CPW) vegetation in Australia, where we examined the soil impacts, and their associated legacy effects, associated with the invasion of African olive ( Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata ). Methods Seedlings of O. europaea subsp. cuspidata and two native legume species, Acacia implexa and Indigofera australis , were grown in different sterilised and unsterilised soils: uninvaded CPW soil, restored CPW soil where O. europaea subsp. cuspidata was removed approximately 20 years ago, and soil from sites still under O. europaea subsp. cuspidata invasion. We characterised nitrogen-fixing rhizobia in the root nodules of seedlings of the two legumes using next-generation sequencing (NGS) barcoding. Results Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata did not appear to condition the soil to favour its own growth and grew best in uninvaded CPW soil. The performance of both native legume species, however, was negatively impacted when grown in sterilised and unsterilised invaded soils, relative to their growth in CPW and restored soils. The soils from invaded sites affected the associations between both legume species and their rhizobium mutualists. Nodulation was higher in CPW and restored soils than in invaded soils, indicating that the availability of rhizobia was negatively impacted by O. europaea subsp. cuspidata . This was confirmed by a negative link between nodulation and the abundance of rhizobia that were characteristic of invaded soils. Conclusion Our findings demonstrate that O. europaea subsp. cuspidata invasion affects the availability of microbial mutualists for native legumes in the CPW. The soil conditions created by O. europaea subsp. cuspidata do not benefit its own performance and these impacts do not persist as legacy effects 20 years after the removal of the invader.

The introduction of nonnative plant species often leads to extensive land colonization and poses a threat to already limited arable land resources. Restoring invaded land and improving soil fertility are therefore essential. In this study, both biochar derived from the invasive Chromolaena odorata and a fungicide were used to improve the soil invaded by this species. The results revealed that fungicide application increased the total biomass of the subsequent plants growing in the invaded soil and significantly altered the recruitment of mycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi. The addition of biochar to invaded soil had a negative legacy effect on subsequent invasive plants but a positive effect on native plants. The combined application of biochar and fungicide effectively diminished the competitive advantage of invasive species, whereas biochar alone markedly increased the competitiveness of native plants. This study proposes a remediation method for mitigating the legacy effects of alien plant invasion that not only suppresses the spread of invasive species but also improves soil fertility and provides potential economic benefits. 外来植物入侵通常占据大量土地, 对有限的耕地资源造成威胁。修复入侵生境、着力提升土壤肥力显得尤为重要。本研究利用入侵植物飞机草 ( Chromolaena odorata ) 生物量制备成生物炭, 配伍土壤杀菌剂对该物种入侵后的土壤进行改良。结果表明, 在受入侵土壤中使用杀菌剂能显著提高后续植物的生物量。土壤杀菌剂明显改变植物对菌根真菌和腐生真菌的招募模式。向受入侵土壤中添加生物炭可以抑制后续入侵植物的生长, 而对本地植物则表现出明显的促进作用。将生物炭与杀菌剂同时施用, 可有效削弱入侵植物的竞争优势, 显著增强本地植物的竞争能力。本研究提出了一种针对外来植物入侵后遗留效应的修复方法, 该方法不仅能有效控制外来植物的扩散, 还能改善土壤肥力并提高经济效益。 Invasive plants often spread rapidly and degrade soil, making it harder for native species to grow. This study tested a new way to restore soils invaded by Chromolaena odorata , a highly aggressive alien plant. We used biochar made from the invader itself and a fungicide to improve soil conditions and support native plant recovery. The results showed that the fungicide boosted plant growth by changing the balance of soil fungi, while biochar suppressed future invasion and promoted native species. When applied together, biochar and fungicide reduced the competitive advantage of invasive plants and improved soil fertility. This eco‐friendly approach helps control invasive species, enhances soil health, and can also contribute to more sustainable land use and agricultural productivity. Biochar derived from invasive plants can reduce their regrowth and promote native vegetation recovery. Fungicide improves plant biomass by shifting soil fungal communities toward more beneficial groups. Combining biochar and fungicide provides an effective strategy for restoring invaded soils and improving soil fertility. 通俗语言摘要:外来植物常常迅速扩散并破坏土壤, 使本地植物难以生长。本研究以恶性入侵植物飞机草 (Chromolaena odorata)为例, 探索了一种修复受入侵土壤的新方法。利用由入侵植物自身制成的生物炭以及杀菌剂对土壤进行改良, 以促进本地植物的恢复。结果表明, 杀菌剂通过改变土壤真菌群落结构, 促进了植物的生长；而生物炭则抑制了入侵植物的再次扩散, 并促进了本地植物的生长。当生物炭与杀菌剂联合施用时, 入侵植物的竞争优势显著降低, 土壤肥力得到改善。这一环保方法不仅有助于控制外来物种的扩散, 还能提升土壤健康, 为可持续土地利用和农业生产力提供新的思路。 • 利用入侵植物制成的生物炭可抑制其再生长, 并促进本地植被恢复。 • 杀菌剂通过调节土壤真菌群落结构, 提升植物生物量。 • 生物炭与杀菌剂的联合施用可有效修复受入侵土壤, 并提高土壤肥力。