Effects of Plant-Soil Feedback on Switchgrass Productivity Related to Microbial Origin
A great deal of effort has been applied to maximizing switchgrass (<i>Panicum virgatum</i> L.) production for bioenergy by leveraging existing local adaptation to climate and via nutrient management in this perennial grass crop. However, the biotic component of soils can also affect plan...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/12/1860 |
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| author | James R. Kiniry Caroline E. Arthur Katherine M. Banick Felix B. Fritschi Yanqi Wu Christine V. Hawkes |
| author_facet | James R. Kiniry Caroline E. Arthur Katherine M. Banick Felix B. Fritschi Yanqi Wu Christine V. Hawkes |
| author_sort | James R. Kiniry |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A great deal of effort has been applied to maximizing switchgrass (<i>Panicum virgatum</i> L.) production for bioenergy by leveraging existing local adaptation to climate and via nutrient management in this perennial grass crop. However, the biotic component of soils can also affect plant production and long-term suitability at a given site. Here, we tested how productivity of four switchgrass cultivars were affected by four microbial sources from the Great Plains. All inoculum soil sources were previously conditioned by a mixture of switchgrass cultivars, allowing us to explicitly address plant-soil feedback effects. Microbial soil inocula were added to a consistent background soil to avoid physicochemical variation across the sources. We found that the soil microbial inoculum source mattered more than cultivar in determining switchgrass biomass. The addition of microbes resulted in smaller plants, with the largest plants found on control soils with no inoculum, but some inocula were less negative than others. There was no geographic matching between cultivars and soil microbial inoculum, suggesting little local adaptation to the biotic component of soils. In addition, measurements of fungal root colonization suggest that fungi are not responsible for the observed patterns. Based on these results, we suggest that switchgrass cultivation could benefit from considering effects of the soil biota. Additional work is needed to generalize these patterns over time, to a wider geographic area, and to a broader range of cultivars. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:34:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8e30a12f47644ab396c34213e6e65ea4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:34:08Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-8e30a12f47644ab396c34213e6e65ea42023-11-20T22:21:50ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952020-11-011012186010.3390/agronomy10121860Effects of Plant-Soil Feedback on Switchgrass Productivity Related to Microbial OriginJames R. Kiniry0Caroline E. Arthur1Katherine M. Banick2Felix B. Fritschi3Yanqi Wu4Christine V. Hawkes5USDA-ARS, Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory, 808 East Blackland Road, Temple, TX 76502, USADepartment of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USAUSDA-ARS, Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory, 808 East Blackland Road, Temple, TX 76502, USADivision of Plant Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USADepartment of Plant and Soil Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74708, USADepartment of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USAA great deal of effort has been applied to maximizing switchgrass (<i>Panicum virgatum</i> L.) production for bioenergy by leveraging existing local adaptation to climate and via nutrient management in this perennial grass crop. However, the biotic component of soils can also affect plant production and long-term suitability at a given site. Here, we tested how productivity of four switchgrass cultivars were affected by four microbial sources from the Great Plains. All inoculum soil sources were previously conditioned by a mixture of switchgrass cultivars, allowing us to explicitly address plant-soil feedback effects. Microbial soil inocula were added to a consistent background soil to avoid physicochemical variation across the sources. We found that the soil microbial inoculum source mattered more than cultivar in determining switchgrass biomass. The addition of microbes resulted in smaller plants, with the largest plants found on control soils with no inoculum, but some inocula were less negative than others. There was no geographic matching between cultivars and soil microbial inoculum, suggesting little local adaptation to the biotic component of soils. In addition, measurements of fungal root colonization suggest that fungi are not responsible for the observed patterns. Based on these results, we suggest that switchgrass cultivation could benefit from considering effects of the soil biota. Additional work is needed to generalize these patterns over time, to a wider geographic area, and to a broader range of cultivars.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/12/1860<i>Panicum virgatum</i>bioenergyperennial cropgeographic variation |
| spellingShingle | James R. Kiniry Caroline E. Arthur Katherine M. Banick Felix B. Fritschi Yanqi Wu Christine V. Hawkes Effects of Plant-Soil Feedback on Switchgrass Productivity Related to Microbial Origin Agronomy <i>Panicum virgatum</i> bioenergy perennial crop geographic variation |
| title | Effects of Plant-Soil Feedback on Switchgrass Productivity Related to Microbial Origin |
| title_full | Effects of Plant-Soil Feedback on Switchgrass Productivity Related to Microbial Origin |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Plant-Soil Feedback on Switchgrass Productivity Related to Microbial Origin |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Plant-Soil Feedback on Switchgrass Productivity Related to Microbial Origin |
| title_short | Effects of Plant-Soil Feedback on Switchgrass Productivity Related to Microbial Origin |
| title_sort | effects of plant soil feedback on switchgrass productivity related to microbial origin |
| topic | <i>Panicum virgatum</i> bioenergy perennial crop geographic variation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/12/1860 |
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