Intraspecific plant-soil feedback as an explanation of plant invasiveness
Anna Florianová, Hana Pánková, Zuzana Münzbergová
Revealing traits responsible for plant invasiveness is one of the main topics in invasion biology. One of the factors that can affect plant invasiveness is intraspecific plant-soil feedback, i.e. the process in which plants affect biotic and abiotic characteristics of the soil they grow in and such modified soil then affects their own growth. While majority of plants experience negative intraspecific plant-soil feedback due to nutrient depletion or accumulation of species specific pathogens, invasive plants are expected to have positive or neutral feedback. To test the hypothesis that intraspecific plant-soil feedback allows plant invasions, we compare intraspecific plant-soil feedbacks in a large set of introduced species, some of which are invasive and some non-invasive in the Czech Republic. We also compare the importance of plant-soil feedback with other traits affecting plant invasiveness. In addition, we study the feedbacks in a smaller set of invasive and native congeners and disentangle the biotic or abiotic factors that undermine the feedbacks. Lastly, we focus on the role of phylogeny and residence time in the feedbacks and on the effect of environmental conditions.