Are there Evolutionary Consequences of Genetic-based Feedbacks between Plants and Soils?

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Ecosystems provide many services to humans, including maintaining soil integrity and fertility. An important question for scientists regarding the services that ecosystems provide is "do species matter" to these services? The increasing availability of DNA technologies has allowed researchers to determine not only if species matter but also if individuals within species also differentially influence their environment? By utilizing three 16-year old experimental gardens of cottonwood trees planted in 3 different environments, this research will determine whether cloned copies of cottonwood individuals (genotypes) can predictably influence soil fertility in unique ways. By addressing this question across three different environments that vary in temperature and precipitation, the strength of the feedback between individual trees and their soils can be determined. In addition, the research will provide information on how the relationships could be modified by climate change. It is expected that unique leaf and root traits of individual clones will predictably impact soil fertility, regardless of environment, although the magnitude of these effects will likely differ as climatic conditions change.Understanding the genetic basis of interactions between plants and soils is important for at least two reasons: 1) By providing a better understanding of the effects of genetic variation in forest species on ecosystem services, it will lead to improved management and conservation strategies under the current climate and future climate scenarios; 2) Documenting the consequences of plant genetics on soils may provide insight on the extended effects of genetically modified plants. Graduate and undergraduate students will be trained in the course of this research and the results disseminated to both the scientific community and the public via publications, talks and a public website.