Plant–soil interactions during the native and exotic range expansion of an annual plant

TY - JOUR

T1 - Plant–soil interactions during the native and exotic range expansion of an annual plant

AU - Lustenhouwer, Nicky

AU - Chaubet, Tom M.R.

AU - Melen, Miranda K.

AU - van der Putten, Wim H.

AU - Parker, Ingrid M.

N1 - Data archiving: dryad

PY - 2024/6

Y1 - 2024/6

N2 - Range expansions, whether they are biological invasions or climate change-mediated range shifts, may have profound ecological and evolutionary consequences for plant–soil interactions. Range-expanding plants encounter soil biota with which they have a limited coevolutionary history, especially when introduced to a new continent. Past studies have found mixed results on whether plants experience positive or negative soil feedback interactions in their novel range, and these effects often change over time. One important theoretical explanation is that plants locally adapt to the soil pathogens and mutualists in their novel range. We tested this hypothesis in Dittrichia graveolens, an annual plant that is both expanding its European native range, initially coinciding with climate warming, and rapidly invading California after human introduction. In parallel greenhouse experiments on both continents, we used plant genotypes and soils from 5 locations at the core and edge of each range to compare plant growth in soil inhabited by D. graveolens and nearby control microsites as a measure of plant–soil feedback. Plant–soil interactions were highly idiosyncratic across each range. On average, plant–soil feedbacks were more positive in the native range than in the exotic range. In line with the strongly heterogeneous pattern of soil responses along our biogeographic gradients, we found no evidence for evolutionary differentiation between plant genotypes from the core to the edge of either range. Our results suggest that the evolution of plant–soil interactions during range expansion may be more strongly driven by local evolutionary dynamics varying across the range than by large-scale biogeographic shifts.

AB - Range expansions, whether they are biological invasions or climate change-mediated range shifts, may have profound ecological and evolutionary consequences for plant–soil interactions. Range-expanding plants encounter soil biota with which they have a limited coevolutionary history, especially when introduced to a new continent. Past studies have found mixed results on whether plants experience positive or negative soil feedback interactions in their novel range, and these effects often change over time. One important theoretical explanation is that plants locally adapt to the soil pathogens and mutualists in their novel range. We tested this hypothesis in Dittrichia graveolens, an annual plant that is both expanding its European native range, initially coinciding with climate warming, and rapidly invading California after human introduction. In parallel greenhouse experiments on both continents, we used plant genotypes and soils from 5 locations at the core and edge of each range to compare plant growth in soil inhabited by D. graveolens and nearby control microsites as a measure of plant–soil feedback. Plant–soil interactions were highly idiosyncratic across each range. On average, plant–soil feedbacks were more positive in the native range than in the exotic range. In line with the strongly heterogeneous pattern of soil responses along our biogeographic gradients, we found no evidence for evolutionary differentiation between plant genotypes from the core to the edge of either range. Our results suggest that the evolution of plant–soil interactions during range expansion may be more strongly driven by local evolutionary dynamics varying across the range than by large-scale biogeographic shifts.

KW - Asteraceae

KW - Dittrichia graveolens

KW - evolution

KW - global change

KW - invasion

KW - local adaptation

KW - plant–soil feedback

KW - range expansion

KW - range shift

U2 - 10.1093/jeb/voae040

DO - 10.1093/jeb/voae040

M3 - Article

C2 - 38536056

AN - SCOPUS:85197360689

SN - 1010-061X

VL - 37

SP - 653

EP - 664

JO - Journal of Evolutionary Biology

JF - Journal of Evolutionary Biology

IS - 6

ER -