DOI: 10.5061/dryad.jh9w0vtjc
title: Data from: Fire effects on soil biota alter the strength and direction of plant-soil feedbacks between Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash and Rudbeckia hirta L.

description: Background and aim: Plant soil feedbacks (PSF) are reciprocal mechanisms
 through which plants modify soil biota and affect future plant
 growth.  When scaled up to the community level, PSFs are
 important determinants of above- and belowground community dynamics that
 influence long-term successional trajectories.  Despite over
 three decades of ecological PSF research, we have a poor understanding of
 how common environmental processes like fire influence the strength and
 direction of PSFs.  Method: In this work we evaluated how fire
 effects on Schizachyrium scoparium and Rudbeckia hirta trained soil biota
 influenced feedbacks on plant growth.  We tested this by
 experimentally manipulating fires and evaluating plant growth responses to
 burned and unburned inter- and intraspecific soil biota
 treatments.  Result: Fire effects on inocula neutralized negative
 feedbacks in S. scoparium, and caused negative feedbacks in R.
 hirta.  This shows that environmental disturbance like fire can
 alter the strength and direction of PSFs in ways that potentially modify
 plant growth, plant fuel loads, and community dynamics. Conclusion: That
 fire can alter the strength and direction of PSFs on plant growth suggests
 that fire effects on soil related processes contribute to plant community
 assembly and fire-fuel dynamics in fire recurrent grassland and savanna
 ecosystems.  Further, this study shows that fire effects on PSFs
 vary between plant species, and may contribute to the dominance of C4
 grasses in pyrophilic ecosystems.
description: # Data from: Fire effects on soil biota alter the strength and direction
 of plant-soil feedbacks
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.jh9w0vtjc](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.jh9w0vtjc) Plant and Soil Journal Dr. Jacob R. Hopkins and Dr. Alison E. Bennett Background and aims: Plant soil feedbacks (PSF) are reciprocal mechanisms through which plants modify soil biota and affect future plant growth. When scaled up to the community level, PSFs are important determinants of above- and belowground community dynamics that influence long-term successional trajectories. Despite over three decades of ecological PSF research, we have a poor understanding of how common environmental processes like fire influence the strength and direction of PSFs. Methods: In this work we evaluated how fire effects on Schizachyrium scoparium and Rudbeckia hirta trained soil biota influenced feedbacks on plant growth. We tested this by experimentally manipulating fires and evaluating plant growth responses to burned and unburned inter- and intraspecific soil biota treatments. Results: Fire effects on inocula neutralized negative feedbacks in S. scoparium, and caused negative feedbacks in R. hirta. This shows that environmental disturbance like fire can alter the strength and direction of PSFs in ways that potentially modify plant growth, plant fuel loads, and community dynamics. Conclusion: That fire can alter the strength and direction of PSFs on plant growth suggests that fire effects on soil related processes contribute to plant community assembly and fire-fuel dynamics in fire recurrent grassland and savanna ecosystems. Further, this study shows that fire effects on PSFs vary between plant species, and may contribute to the dominance of C4 grasses in pyrophilic ecosystems. final_plant_weights.csv contains plant biomass data from the experiment phase_two.csv contains plant growth data from the experiment psf_sheet.csv contains plant-soil feedback metrics from the experiment \--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- final_plant_weights.csv: Plant biomass data collected Spring 2022 \--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- pot_id: ID number for pot row: greenhouse spatial location - east/west row number column: greenhouse spatial location - nort/south column number plant: phase 2 plant species ID (growth response species); lb = Schizachyrium scoparium, red = Rudbeckia hirta trainer: phase 1 plant species ID (trainer species); lb = Schizachyrium scoparium, red = Rudbeckia hirta innocula: pot ID number that innocula came from fire: presence/absence of experimental fire treatment above: aboveground plant biomass (grams) below: belowground plant biomass (grams) root_shoot: ratio of belowground to aboveground plant biomass total: sum of above and belowground plant biomass startheight: starting height (centimeters) for phase 2 plant species \---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- phase_two.csv: Plant growth data during months 1, 2, and 3 of the experiment \---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- \** missing values ("na") were due to dead plants or measurements not possible for a given species (e.g., leaf number for S. scoparium) row: greenhouse spatial location - east/west row number column: greenhouse spatial location - nort/south column number pot_id: ID number for pot plant: phase 2 plant species ID (growth response species); lb = Schizachyrium scoparium, red = Rudbeckia hirta trainer: phase 1 plant species ID (trainer species); lb = Schizachyrium scoparium, red = Rudbeckia hirta innocula: pot ID number that innocula came from fire: presence/absence of experimental fire treatment start_height: starting height (centimeters) for phase 2 plant species mon1heightlength: month 1 plant height (S. scoparium)/ longest leaf length (R. hirta) - centimeters mon1leaf_no: month 1 leaf number (R. hirta only) mon1tillers: month 1 grass tiller number (S. scoparium only) mon2heightlength: month 2 plant height (S. scoparium)/ longest leaf length (R. hirta) - centimeters mon2leaf_no: month 2 leaf number (R. hirta only) mon2tillers: month 2 grass tiller number (S. scoparium only) mon2bolt: month 2 presence of flowering stalk (R. hirta only) mon2flower: month 2 flower number (R. hirta only) mon3heightlength: month 3 plant height (S. scoparium)/ longest leaf length (R. hirta) - centimeters mon3leaf_no: month 3 leaf number (R. hirta only) mon3tillers: month 3 grass tiller number (S. scoparium only) mon3bolt: month 3 presence of flowering stalk (R. hirta only) mon3flower: month 3 flower number (R. hirta) \---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- psf_sheet.csv: Plant-Soil feedback metrics for plant biomass data \---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- \## missing values ("na") were due to dead plants that prevented pairwise assesment of plant soil feedbacks plant: phase 2 plant species ID (growth response species); lb = Schizachyrium scoparium, red = Rudbeckia hirta fire: presence/absence of experimental fire treatment inn_away: innocula pot ID of heterospecific trained soil inn_home: innocula pot ID of conspecific trained soil psf_total: plant-soil feedback metric for total plant biomass (grams); log[total_biomass_home/total_biomass_away] psf_above: plant-soil feedback metric for above ground biomass (grams); log[aboveground_biomass_home/aboveground_biomass_away]