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

生态系统为人类提供许多服务，包括保持土壤完整性和肥力。对于科学家来说，关于生态系统提供的服务的一个重要问题是，“物种对这些服务重要吗”？ 随着DNA技术的日益普及，研究人员不仅可以确定物种是否重要，还可以确定物种内的个体是否也对环境产生不同的影响。 通过利用三个16岁的实验园种植在3个不同的环境中的三角叶棉白杨树木，这项研究将确定是否克隆复制的棉白杨个人（基因型）可以预测影响土壤肥力的独特方式。 通过在温度和降水量不同的三种不同环境中解决这个问题，可以确定单个树木及其土壤之间的反馈强度。 此外，这项研究还将提供有关气候变化如何改变这种关系的信息。 预计无论环境如何，单个克隆的独特叶和根性状都将对土壤肥力产生可预测的影响，尽管这些影响的程度可能会随着气候条件的变化而有所不同。了解植物和土壤之间相互作用的遗传基础至少有两个原因很重要：1）通过更好地了解森林物种遗传变异对生态系统服务的影响，它将导致在当前气候和未来气候情景下改进管理和保护战略; 2）记录植物遗传学对土壤的影响可能会对转基因植物的长期影响提供见解。 研究生和本科生将在本研究过程中接受培训，并通过出版物、讲座和公共网站将结果传播给科学界和公众。

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.