Plant functional traits as factors explaining intra- and inter-specific plant-soil feedback across species and genotypes (2020-2022)
Zuzana Münzbergová, Věra Hanzelková, Tomáš Dostálek, Renáta Schnablová, Mária Šurinová
Plant-soil feedback (PSF) is a relationship in which plants affect the soil, which in turn affects the growth of the plants. Despite the increasing recognition of the importance of PSF for species interactions, our ability to predict the type and direction of PSF is still very limited. We aim to obtain mechanistic insights into the determinants of intra-specific and inter-specific PSF at the species and genotype level by linking the results of PSF experiments to wide range of plant functional traits, species phylogeny and changes in soil chemistry and soil biota. The plant functional traits will include traits expected to be directly linked to plant effects on the soil, many of which have not been included in such a comparison before, such as production and composition of root exudates, root growth, nutrient accumulation in plant biomass, decomposition rate and DNA content. The project will provide unique insights into the determinants of PSF and thus uncover an important mechanism structuring the composition of plant communities.
Publications:
Münzbergová, Z., Hanzelková, V. & Dostálek T. 2025: Species habitat preferences and root trait variation across 65 temperate perennial forbs. Annals of Botany 136, 1339–53. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcaf029.
Rathore N, Hanzelková V, Dostálek T, Thakur D, Münzbergová Z (2025) Invasive species are more homogenous in their root morphology and exudate metabolome than non-invasive alien species. Environmental and Experimental Botany 229: 106057.
Rathore N, Hanzelková V, Dostálek T, Semerád J, Schnablová R, Cajthaml T, Münzbergová Z (2023) Species Phylogeny, Ecology, and Root Traits as Predictors of Root Exudate Composition. New Phytologist 239: 1212–24.