Mechanism of plant–soil feedback in a degraded alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau

• DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtae025
• Publication Date: 2024-04-10T12:06:45Z
• Authors: Tiancai Zhou; Jian Sun; Peili Shi
• Keywords: Soil carbon; Grassland Degradation

Abstract Although biotic and abiotic factors have been confirmed to be critical that affect community dynamics, their interactive effects yet fully considered in grassland degradation. Herein, we tested how soil nutrients microbes regulated plant–soil feedback (PSF) a degraded alpine grassland. Our results indicated total carbon (STC; from 17.66 12.55 g/kg) nitrogen (STN; 3.16 2.74 exhibited significant (P < 0.05) decrease non-degraded (ND) severely (SD). Despite higher ND generating significantly positive PSF (0.52) on monocots growth when the was sterilized, high proportion of pathogens (36%) non-sterilized resulted strong negative monocots. In contrast, phenotypic plasticity dicots coupled with abundance mutualists saprophytes (70%) strongly promoted survival SD infertile soil. findings identified novel mechanism there functional group shift vulnerability fertile dependence nutritional The emerging irreversible eco-evolutionary after degradation might cause predicament for restoration