Thursday, January 28, 2021

Roger Laushman publishes in Plant and Soil, with Jake Nash '16 (now at Duke Univ) and C. Schadt, Univ Tennesee


Nash, Jake, Laushman, Roger, Professor of Biology, & Schadt, Christopher. (2020). Ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity interacts with soil nutrients to predict plant growth despite weak plant-soil feedbacks. Plant and Soil, 453(1-2), 445-458. doi:10.1007/S11104-020-04616-Y  
From a special issue:  Agroforestry: a belowground perspective.

Burr Oak leaves and acorn, image from USDA
via Wikimedia Commons
Partial abstract: "We investigated whether plant-soil feedbacks of an ectomycorrhizal tree (Quercus macrocarpa) [Burr Oak] varied based on soil nutrient status and whether fungal community composition and diversity could explain feedback patterns. ...There was a positive home vs. away plant-soil feedback, though feedbacks with individual hosts were not significant regardless of fertilization. Still, hosts harbored distinctive fungal communities that were predictive of plant growth."