Abstract
Aims
Root lesion nematodes (RLN) have negative impacts on legume-grass systems. These impacts might be moderated by bacterial feeding nematodes (BFN) presence. It remains unknown how these trophic groups of nematodes interactively impact plant productivity and dynamics of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in grass-legume mixtures. We addressed this research gap using inter-kingdom interactions in a model system.
Methods
Chickpea and oat were grown in mono- and mixed cultures, and RLN and BFN were applied alone and in combination. Plant biomass, shoot C and N content and isotopic composition, and mineral N in soil were measured.
Results
RLN presence reduced root biomass across treatments. This reduction was stronger in the grass than the legume and was not modified by BFN. Nematodes increased plant shoot N concentrations. RLN and BFN had interactive effects on shoot nutrient concentration resulting in reduced shoot C concentration when both trophic groups were combined. Shoot δ15N data revealed transfer of symbiotically fixed N from chickpea to oat in the presence of RLN. However, this N transfer did not result in improved oat growth.
Conclusions
Interactive effects of soil organisms can cascade aboveground, influencing C and N dynamics and ecosystem productivity.
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Data availability
The data are currently available at: https://figshare.com/s/b215536f5cd2b9cf9c62.
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Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the staff at Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment (H.I.E, Western Sydney University, NSW, Australia) for their assistance with lab work and experiment preparation, especially to G. McKenzie, P. Matta, C. Mitchell, K. Plett and K. Sherriff. Two volunteers assisted with experimental setup, maintenance and harvest (C. Franks, F. Loader). We wish to thank S. Bithell for providing fresh soil to isolate our organisms of study and K. Hobson for chickpea seeds. The statistical analyses were improved thanks to comments from R. Thompson. The first author’s research is supported by an USWPRA grant (Western Sydney University, NSW, Australia). The final version of this manuscript has benefited from the comments of an independent reviewer (S. Johnson).
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PG, EP, YC and UN designed the experiment, PG and JP maintained and harvested the experiment. PG analysed the data and wrote the text with input from all co-authors.
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Gilarte, P., Plett, J., Pendall, E. et al. Direct and indirect trophic interactions of soil nematodes impact chickpea and oat nutrition. Plant Soil 457, 255–268 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04735-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04735-6