Voorkómen en vóórkomen van Jakobskruiskruid: hulp uit de bodem?

Jakobskruiskruid is een inheemse plantensoort die in grote delen van Nederland veelvuldig voorkomt, maar helaas giftig is voor onder meer paarden en runderen. In het veld vermijden grazers over het algemeen de plant, maar in gedroogd hooi wordt het niet meer door de dieren herkend, terwijl de plant wel giftig blijft. Hooi van natuurgebieden of wegbermen dat Jakobskruiskruid bevat, kan dan ook niet worden verkocht en moet worden afgevoerd en vernietigd. Daarom wordt er veel aandacht besteed aan het Jakobskruiskruid-vrij houden of -krijgen van weiden, bermen en graslanden. Meer inzicht in de dynamiek van Jakobskruiskruid kan bijdragen aan een effectiever behee

The way forward in biochar research: targeting trade-offs between the potential wins.

Plant science

Voorkómen en vóórkomen van Jakobskruiskruid: hulp uit de bodem?

Jakobskruiskruid is een inheemse plantensoort die in grote delen van Nederland veelvuldig voorkomt, maar helaas giftig is voor onder meer paarden en runderen. In het veld vermijden grazers over het algemeen de plant, maar in gedroogd hooi wordt het niet meer door de dieren herkend, terwijl de plant wel giftig blijft. Hooi van natuurgebieden of wegbermen dat Jakobskruiskruid bevat, kan dan ook niet worden verkocht en moet worden afgevoerd en vernietigd. Daarom wordt er veel aandacht besteed aan het Jakobskruiskruid-vrij houden of -krijgen van weiden, bermen en graslanden. Meer inzicht in de dynamiek van Jakobskruiskruid kan bijdragen aan een effectiever behee

Soil inoculation method determines the strength of plant–soil interactions

There is increasing evidence that interactions between plants and biotic components of the soil influence plant productivity and plant community composition. Many plant–soil feedback experiments start from inoculating relatively small amounts of natural soil to sterilized bulk soil. These soil inocula may include a variety of size classes of soil biota, each having a different role in the observed soil feedback effects. In order to examine what may be the effect of various size classes of soil biota we compared inoculation with natural field soil sieved through a 1 mm mesh, a soil suspension also sieved through a 1 mm mesh, and a microbial suspension sieved through a 20 μm mesh. We tested these effects for different populations of the same plant species and for different soil origins. Plant biomass was greatest in pots inoculated with the microbial suspension and smallest in pots inoculated with sieved soil, both in the first and second growth phase, and there was no significant population or soil origin effect. Plant-feeding nematodes were almost exclusively found in the sieved soil treatment. We show that processing the soil to obtain a microbial suspension reduces the strength of the soil effect in both the first and second growth phase. We also show that the results obtained with inoculating sieved soil and with a soil suspension are not comparable. In conclusion, when designing plant–soil feedback experiments, it is crucial to consider that soil inoculum preparation can strongly influence the observed soil effect.

The importance of plant-soil interactions and plant life history traits for the population dynamics of Jacobaea vulgaris during old-field succession

We examined to what extent temporal dynamics of Jacobaea vulgaris cover in old-fields were related to plant–soil feedback, soil nutrients, seed availability and performance, and seedling establishment. Long-term measurements at an experimental field and in ten old-fields representing a chronosequence following land abandonment revealed a remarkably similar hump-shaped temporal pattern of J. vulgaris cover, which peaked at about five years after abandonment. In a plant–soil feedback study, J. vulgaris biomass of plants grown in soil from all chronosequence fields was lower than in sterilized control soil. However, biomass of J. vulgaris in the feedback study was lower when grown in soil collected from fields with a high density of J. vulgaris plants than in soil from fields with a low density of J. vulgaris. When plants were grown again in the conditioned soil, a strong negative plant–soil feedback response was observed for soils from all fields. These results indicate that soils from all stages of the chronosequence can develop a strong negative soil feedback to J. vulgaris, and that there is a positive relationship between J. vulgaris density and the subsequent level of control by the soil community. In a common-garden experiment with turfs collected from the chronosequence fields in which J. vulgaris was seeded, seedling establishment was significantly lower in turfs from older than from young fields. In a seed bank study the number of emerging seedlings declined with time since abandonment of the field. In conclusion, negative plant–soil feedback is an important factor explaining the hump-shaped population development of J. vulgaris. However, it is not operating alone, as propagule availability and characteristics, and competition may also be important. Thus, in order to explain its contribution to plant population dynamics, the role of biotic plant–soil interactions, soil nutrients and life history characteristics along successional gradients should be considered from a community perspective

Can the negative plant-soil feedback of Jacobaea vulgaris be explained by autotoxicity?

Field and bioassay studies with Jacobaeavulgaris (ragwort) have shown that plants grow poorly in soil originating from the rhizosphere of this species and that this can influence the dynamics of ragwort populations during secondary succession. In the present study we examined whether the negative effect of ragwort on conspecifics may be due to autotoxicity. First, we experimentally established that ragwort exerts negativeplant–soilfeedback. We subsequently examined the inhibitory effects on germination and seedling performance of different strengths of aqueous extracts made from shoot and root tissues of ragwort, and from soil in which ragwort had been growing. The effects of the extracts were tested for seedlings growing in sterilised soil or in glass beads with water. Finally, the inhibitory effect of entire root fragments on seedling performance was tested. We observed that performance of seedlings growing in glass beads was significantly reduced by the high and medium strength root and shoot extracts. Extracts made from soil did not differ significantly from the control, and seedlings growing in sterilised soil were also not affected by ragwort extracts. Seed germination was significantly reduced by the high strength shoot extract only. The root length of seedlings growing in water with root fragments was reduced significantly. We conclude that under laboratory conditions ragwort can be autotoxic and discuss the role that autotoxicity may play in influencing the dynamics of ragwort populations during secondary succession

Intra- and interspecific plant-soil interactions, soil legacies and priority effects during old-field succession

1. Legacy effects of plant influences on abiotic and biotic soil properties can result in priority effects that influence the structure and composition of plant communities. To better understand the role of these plant–soil interactions, here we expand the concept of plant–soil feedbacks from a within-species approach (intraspecific plant–soil feedback) to a between-species approach (interspecific plant–soil interactions). 2. In a greenhouse experiment, we tested how the early successional Jacobaea vulgaris affects its own performance and the performance of 30 co-occurring plant species via changes in abiotic and biotic soil conditions. In addition, we examined the reciprocal effect of the co-occurring species on J. vulgaris. 3. Our study had three important results. First, J. vulgaris exhibits strong negative plant–soil feedback. Secondly, there were large differences among the co-occurring species in interspecific plant–soil effects on J. vulgaris growth. Approximately, half the species reduced J. vulgaris performance, whereas the other half had no effect. Thirdly, soil conditioned by J. vulgaris had a positive or neutral effect on the growth of the co-occurring species. 4. To test the soil effects of entire plant communities, in 10 old-fields that differed in time since abandonment we recorded the identity of all plants surrounding J. vulgaris individuals. We calculated the weighted soil effect of this community on J. vulgaris and the reciprocal effect of J. vulgaris on the community. There was a positive linear relationship between time since abandonment and the weighted feedback effect of J. vulgaris on the plant community. 5. We suggest three mechanisms how the legacy of plant–soil interactions may enhance the rate of succession through priority effects: early successional plant species exert negative plant–soil feedback; co-occurring plant species cause negative interspecific plant–soil effects to the early successional species; and the early successional species have overall positive interspecific plant–soil effects on the co-occurring plant species. 6.Synthesis. The performance of an early successional species can be reduced directly by the legacy effects of intraspecific plant–soil feedback, as well as indirectly by the legacy effects of both intra- and interspecific plant–soil interactions. These intra- and interspecific plant–soil interactions can prioritize transitions of plant species in plant communities.

The importance of plant-soil interactions and plant life history traits for the population dynamics of Jacobaea vulgaris during old-field succession

We examined to what extent temporal dynamics of Jacobaea vulgaris cover in old-fields were related to plant–soil feedback, soil nutrients, seed availability and performance, and seedling establishment. Long-term measurements at an experimental field and in ten old-fields representing a chronosequence following land abandonment revealed a remarkably similar hump-shaped temporal pattern of J. vulgaris cover, which peaked at about five years after abandonment. In a plant–soil feedback study, J. vulgaris biomass of plants grown in soil from all chronosequence fields was lower than in sterilized control soil. However, biomass of J. vulgaris in the feedback study was lower when grown in soil collected from fields with a high density of J. vulgaris plants than in soil from fields with a low density of J. vulgaris. When plants were grown again in the conditioned soil, a strong negative plant–soil feedback response was observed for soils from all fields. These results indicate that soils from all stages of the chronosequence can develop a strong negative soil feedback to J. vulgaris, and that there is a positive relationship between J. vulgaris density and the subsequent level of control by the soil community. In a common-garden experiment with turfs collected from the chronosequence fields in which J. vulgaris was seeded, seedling establishment was significantly lower in turfs from older than from young fields. In a seed bank study the number of emerging seedlings declined with time since abandonment of the field. In conclusion, negative plant–soil feedback is an important factor explaining the hump-shaped population development of J. vulgaris. However, it is not operating alone, as propagule availability and characteristics, and competition may also be important. Thus, in order to explain its contribution to plant population dynamics, the role of biotic plant–soil interactions, soil nutrients and life history characteristics along successional gradients should be considered from a community perspective