Author for correspondence: zarah.pattison@stir.ac.uk Running title: plant-soil feedbacks Impatiens Word count: 6225 Summary is one of the most widespread invasive plant species in the UK. Impatiens glandulifera Although aspects of its biology are known, there is little information about its association with microbial communities both above- and below-ground. Furthermore, it is unknown whether this species exhibits any form of plant-soil feedback (PSF), commonly seen in other invasive weeds. We conducted a PSF experiment, in which plants of were I glandulifera grown in soil that supported the species, and compared with those in a control soil from the same locality. Soil nutrients were measured and the soil and foliar microbial communities were assessed. grew larger and faster in conditioned soil compared to the I. glandulifera control. Higher levels of phosphate were also found in conditioned soils. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) colonisation was lower in conditioned soils, suggesting that I. may rapidly alter AMF communities in invaded areas. PSFs had a significant glandulifera effect on the foliar endophyte community, with clear separation of species between conditioned and control soils. These results show that displays a positive PSF I. glandulifera and the PSF mechanism extends beyond the soil microbial community to affect foliar endophytes. The observed increase in endophytes in plants grown in conditioned soil could enhance resistance to herbivory, thus further accentuating the invasive properties of this species.
Author for correspondence: zarah.pattison@stir.ac.uk Running title: Impatiens plant-soil feedbacks Word count: 6225 Summary Impatiens glandulifera is one of the most widespread invasive plant species in the UK. Although aspects of its biology are known, there is little information about its association with microbial communities both above- and below-ground. Furthermore, it is unknown whether this species exhibits any form of plant-soil feedback (PSF), commonly seen in other invasive weeds. We conducted a PSF experiment, in which plants of I glandulifera were grown in soil that supported the species, and compared with those in a control soil from the same locality. Soil nutrients were measured and the soil and foliar microbial communities were assessed. I. glandulifera grew larger and faster in conditioned soil compared to the control. Higher levels of phosphate were also found in conditioned soils. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) colonisation was lower in conditioned soils, suggesting that I. glandulifera may rapidly alter AMF communities in invaded areas. PSFs had a significant effect on the foliar endophyte community, with clear separation of species between conditioned and control soils. These results show that I. glandulifera displays a positive PSF and the PSF mechanism extends beyond the soil microbial community to affect foliar endophytes. The observed increase in endophytes in plants grown in conditioned soil could enhance resistance to herbivory, thus further accentuating the invasive properties of this species.
Pattison_et_al_2015_WR_PURE.docx