首页|Belowground mechanisms for oak regeneration: Interactions among fire, soil microbes, and plant community alter oak seedling growth
Belowground mechanisms for oak regeneration: Interactions among fire, soil microbes, and plant community alter oak seedling growth
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NSTL
Elsevier
It has been firmly established that oak regeneration benefits from prescribed burning and reduced competition with fire-intolerant tree species. Despite recommendations for research on the role of the microsite environment for oak regeneration, very little is known about the interacting effects of fire, soil, and surrounding plant community on oak establishment. We collected undisturbed and burned soil in the aftermath of a wildfire in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and used amplicon sequencing to identify differences in composition of bacterial and fungal communities between unburned and burned soils. To assess the effects of plant community, fire-induced shifts in soil microbial communities, and their interaction we conducted a glasshouse experiment and grew Quercus velutina seedlings in factorial treatments of plant neighbor (oak vs. pine seedling) and soil burn status (unburned vs. burned soil). Fire reduced the diversity of plant pathogenic and saprotrophic fungi and reduced the relative abundance of plant pathogenic fungi. Fire did not affect soil bacterial communities. Shifts in soil fungal community composition enhanced oak seedling root growth, but the effect of the soil microbiome was mediated by plant neighbor interactions. Seedling root growth was negatively correlated with diversity of pathogenic fungi. Root growth was enhanced in burned soil relative to unburned soil, but only when growing with a pine seedling neighbor as opposed to an oak seedling neighbor. Results from this study show that interactions between soil microbes and nearby plants can in part mediate oak seedling growth. As such, nuanced decisions that consider the ecological interactions of the microsite environment are needed to achieve desired outcomes for oak regeneration.
Oak regenerationFireSoilSoil microbial communitiesQuercusPinus
Beals, Kendall K.、Scearce, Alex E.、Swystun, Alex T.、Schweitzer, Jennifer A.
NSTL
Elsevier
