Plant–Soil Feedback: Bridging Natural and Agricultural Sciences

PSF has been extensively studied in both agricultural and natural systems, with increased activity in recent years, but a framework for integrating the concepts and principles developed in these systems is lacking. Interactions between soil biota and plant leaf and root traits have become an important tool in understanding PSF in wild plants, but this understanding has not yet been utilized in agricultural crop rotations. Soil inoculations with microbial strains are increasingly being used for steering the soil microbiome in agriculture but might also offer a promising method of restoration of degraded systems, and for controlling the spread of invasive species. Increasing evidence shows that PSF can play important roles in mediating ecosystem responses to forecasted climate change and extreme weather events. In agricultural and natural systems researchers have demonstrated large effects of plant–soil feedback (PSF) on plant growth. However, the concepts and approaches used in these two types of systems have developed, for the most part, independently. Here, we present a conceptual framework that integrates knowledge and approaches from these two contrasting systems. We use this integrated framework to demonstrate (i) how knowledge from complex natural systems can be used to increase agricultural resource-use efficiency and productivity and (ii) how research in agricultural systems can be used to test hypotheses and approaches developed in natural systems. Using this framework, we discuss avenues for new research toward an ecologically sustainable and climate-smart future. In agricultural and natural systems researchers have demonstrated large effects of plant–soil feedback (PSF) on plant growth. However, the concepts and approaches used in these two types of systems have developed, for the most part, independently. Here, we present a conceptual framework that integrates knowledge and approaches from these two contrasting systems. We use this integrated framework to demonstrate (i) how knowledge from complex natural systems can be used to increase agricultural resource-use efficiency and productivity and (ii) how research in agricultural systems can be used to test hypotheses and approaches developed in natural systems. Using this framework, we discuss avenues for new research toward an ecologically sustainable and climate-smart future. soil fungi living in a (mostly) mutualistic relationship with most plant species and, in many cases, providing benefits to plants and ecosystems. underground network of AMF hyphae that connects individual plants and transfers water, carbon, and nutrients. benefits that humans derive directly or indirectly from ecosystems. the resistance and resilience of ecosystems to disturbance or stress, such as through environmental change. organisms, often fungi or bacteria, that live within a plant and gain carbon from the host plant. Endophytes can have positive or negative effects on plant fitness. species with a key role in structuring a community by creating or maintaining habitat that supports other species. quantifiable morphological, physiological, biochemical, or phenological characteristics of individual organisms that are relevant to relationships with other species and how they interact with the environment. agricultural practice growing two or more crops simultaneously in the same field. the profile of phenols, a class of chemical compounds, produced by plants and microorganisms that varies between and within species. gradient of plant functional traits, based on the resource-acquisition strategy of the plant, ranging from traits associated with slow growth and conservation of resources to fast growth and rapid turnover of resources. microorganisms and microfauna and mesofauna living in the narrow region of soil in direct contact with the plant root. organisms deriving their energy from nonliving organic material. community of all organisms living in the soil often forming a complex network of trophic interactions. agricultural management with the aim of meeting today’s food challenges in an environmentally responsible manner and without compromising the long-term productivity of the system. position occupied by a living organism in a food chain. In the soil food web, trophic levels include root herbivores, decomposers, consumers, and predators.