POWRE: Impact of Soil Communities on Invasive Plant Species in Southern California

Subramaniam，BanuDEB 0075072 P.I.提出了一个项目，探讨土壤群落对入侵和本土植物物种在南加州的作用。 她将测试可能影响外来物种建立的土壤群落动态的两种潜在机制。第一个机制，互惠假说的退化假设，外来物种减少了对土壤互惠的依赖，因此在面对干扰时表现得更好。 第二种机制，即逃离病原体假说，表明外来物种摆脱了其本土土壤病原体，从而促进了它们的建立。 主要研究者和合作者贝弗将进行绿色室内实验，他们将在接种了一系列土壤群落的花盆中监测植物物种的生长。 作为一个POWRE获奖者，PI将继续对本科生开展外联活动，作为其努力的一部分，以增加年轻女科学家的数量，并提高妇女研究学生的科学知识。 这将促进PI的职业生涯，让她独特的接触新工具，并允许她在离开一段时间后返回现场生物学。

Subramaniam, BanuDEB 0075072The P.I. proposes a project to explore the role of soil communities on invasive and native plant species in southern California. She will test two potential mechanisms of soil community dynamics that may influence establishment of exotics. The first mechanism, the degradation of mutualists hypothesis postulates that exotic species have reduced dependence on soil mutualists and therefore do better in the face of disturbance. The second mechanism, the escape from pathogens hypothesis suggests that exotic species are freed of their native soil pathogens, thereby facilitating their establishment. The PI and collaborator Bever will conduct green house experiments in which they will monitor the growth of plant species in pots inoculated with a range of soil communities. As a POWRE awardee, the PI will continue outreach activities to undergraduate students as part of her effort to enhance the number of young women scientists and to enhance the scientific knowledge of Women's Studies students. This will advance the PI's career by allowing her unique exposure to new tools and allow her to return to field biology after some time away.