DOI: 10.5061/dryad.7h44j0zxz
title: Greenhouse experiment data: Soil microbial legacies influence plant survival and growth in mine reclamation

description: Plants alter soil biological communities, generating ecosystem legacies
 that affect the performance of successive plants, influencing plant
 community assembly and successional trajectories. Yet, our understanding
 of how microbe‐mediated soil legacies influence plant establishment is
 limited for primary successional systems and forest ecosystems,
 particularly for ectomycorrhizal plants. In a two‐phase greenhouse
 experiment using primary successional mine reclamation materials with or
 without forest soil additions, we conditioned soil with an early
 successional shrub with low mycorrhizal dependence (willow, Salix
 scouleriana) and a later‐successional ectomycorrhizal conifer (spruce,
 Picea engelmannii × glauca). The same plant species and later‐successional
 plants (spruce and/or redcedar, Thuja plicata, a mid‐ to late-successional
 arbuscular mycorrhizal conifer) were grown as legacy‐phase seedlings in
 conditioned soils and unconditioned control soils. Legacy effects were
 evaluated based on seedling survival and biomass, and the abundance and
 diversity of root fungal symbionts and pathogens. We found negative
 intraspecific (same‐species) soil legacies for willow associated with
 pathogen accumulation, but neutral to positive intraspecific legacies in
 spruce associated with increased mycorrhizal fungal colonization and
 diversity. Our findings support research showing that soil legacy effects
 vary with plant nutrient acquisition strategy, with plants with low
 mycorrhizal dependence experiencing negative feedbacks and ectomycorrhizal
 plants experiencing positive feedbacks. Soil legacy effects of willow on
 next‐stage successional species (spruce and redcedar) were negative,
 potentially due to allelopathy, while ectomycorrhizal spruce had neutral
 to negative legacy effects on arbuscular mycorrhizal redcedar, likely due
 to the trees not associating with compatible mycorrhizae. Thus, positive
 biological legacies may be limited to scenarios where
 mycorrhizal‐dependent plants grow in soil containing legacies of
 compatible mycorrhizae. We found that soil legacies influenced plant
 performance in mine reclamation materials with and without forest soil
 additions, indicating that initial restoration actions may potentially
 exert long‐term effects on plant community composition, even in primary
 successional soils with low microbial activity.
description: Data collection methods are described in the associated
 publication. Raw (unprocessed) data are provided.
description: # Greenhouse experiment data: Soil microbial legacies influence plant
 survival and growth in mine reclamation Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.7h44j0zxz](10.5061/dryad.7h44j0zxz) ## Description of the
 data and file structure In a two-phase greenhouse experiment using primary
 successional mine reclamation materials with or without forest soil
 additions, we conditioned soil with an early successional shrub with low
 mycorrhizal dependence (willow, *Salix scouleriana*) and a
 later-successional ectomycorrhizal conifer (spruce, *Picea
 engelmannii* × *glauca*). The same plant species and later-successional
 plants (spruce and/or redcedar, *Thuja plicata*, a mid- to
 late-successional arbuscular mycorrhizal conifer) were grown as
 legacy-phase seedlings in conditioned soils and unconditioned control
 soils. Legacy effects were evaluated based on seedling survival and
 biomass, and the abundance and diversity of root fungal symbionts and
 pathogens. ### Files and variables #### File:
 McMahen_et_al_2022_Greenhouse_Data_Dryad.csv **Description:** An Excel
 file containing raw data results from the greenhouse study ##### Variables
 * reclamation_material_type - growing medium seedling was grown in (no
 unit) * forest_soil_% - proportion of forest soil mixed with the
 reclamation_material_type (unit = %) * plant_species_conditioning_phase -
 plant species grown in the soil during the conditioning phase (no unit);
 "None" = control * plant_species_legacy_phase - plant species
 grown in the conditioned or control soil from the conditioning phase (no
 unit) * seedling_no - unique seeding ID (no unit); NA = seedling did not
 survive * germinant_survival_% - survival of germinating seeds prior to
 thinning (unit = %); NA = no seeds germinated and survival could not be
 evaluated * growing_days - number of growing days in the greenhouse (unit
 = # of days); NA = seedling did not survive * shoot_biomass_mg - biomass
 of the seeding shoot (unit = mg); NA = seedling did not survive *
 root_biomass_mg - biomass of the seeding root (unit = mg); NA = seedling
 did not survive or data point not available (n = 1) *
 soil_depth_from_top_of_pot - depth between soil surface and the top edge
 of the pot, which varied due to soil settling (unit = cm); NA = seedling
 did not survive or data point not available (n = 1) * EMF_colonization_% -
 root percent colonization by ectomycorrhizal fungi (unit = %); only
 measured for willow and spruce; NA = species not assessed, seedling did
 not survive or data point not available (n = 1) * EMF_richness - richness
 of ectomycorrhizal fungi morphotypes; (unit = # of morphotypes); only
 measured for spruce; NA = seedling did not survive or species not assessed
 * non_AMF_fungal_endophyte_colonization_% - root percent colonization by
 non-arbuscular mycorrhizal endophytic fungi (unit = %); only measured for
 willow and cedar seedlings; NA = species not assessed, seedling did not
 survive or data point not available (n = 1) * AMF_colonization_% - root
 percent colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (unit = %); only
 measured for willow and cedar seedlings; NA = species not assessed,
 seedling did not survive or data point not available (n = 1) *
 root_length_cm - specific root length (unit = cm); only measured for
 spruce and cedar seedlings; NA species not assessed or seedling did not
 survive * foliar_N_% - foliar nitrogen content (unit = %); NA = seedling
 did not survive or data point not available (n = 5; typically due to
 insufficient biomass for anlaysis) * foliar_C_% - foliar carbon content
 (unit = %); NA = seedling did not survive or data point not available (n =
 5; typically due to insufficient biomass for anlaysis) * foliar_CN_ratio -
 foliar carbon to nitrogen ratio (no unit); NA = seedling did not survive
 or data point not available (n = 5; typically due to insufficient biomass
 for anlaysis) ## Code/software Data prepared in Excel but can be viewed
 using LibreOffice Calc ## Access information Other publicly accessible
 locations of the data: None Data was derived from the following sources:
 greenhouse study