Grasses and forbs respond differently to inoculation with Stellera chamaejasme soil bota

Abstract

AbstractStellera chamaejasme L. is a native, widely distributed weed in steppe perennial grassland in China and countries nearby. Its spread has been attributed in part to the effect of its associated soil biota on the growth of other plants. To investigate this hypothesis, soil associated with S. chamaejasme or not was taken from grasslands in the Inner Mongolia plateau. S. chamaejasme and six co‐occurring plant species, including grasses (Leymus chinensis and Agropyron cristatum) and forbs (Allium mongolicum, Sanguisorba officinalis, Plantago asiatica, and Saussurea runcinata), were then grown with such soil or its autoclaved inocula in pot trials comparing their shoot and root growth. Fungal diversity was compared between S. chamaejasme and non‐S. chamaejasme field soils to investigate differences in functional groups associated with plant growth. The growth of S. chamaejasme, and that of the forbs tested, increased with a “live” relative to the autoclaved inoculum whilst that of the two grasses decreased. Root‐shoot ratio significantly increased for S. chamaejasme grown with its own soil biota. S. chamaejasme and non‐S. chamaejasme soil fungal communities differed, with the former having decreased relative abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and increased abundance of plant pathogens, which might be factors promoting its spread and facilitating grassland degradation. The results improve our understanding of the role of soil biota in S. chamaejasme succession.