In new projects on this topic, I therefore use mesh pots to directly examine the influence of surrounding plant communities on soil conditioning effects of single plants, allowing the establishment of ‘regular’ two-phase plant-soil feedback experiments. (5/5). To be continued!

Although interesting, the results were difficult to interpret (and the project required three experimental phases), especially because legacy effects of individual plants were likely also modified by changing competitive hierarchies with increasing plant diversity. (4/5)

Key message 2: Unlike expected, diversity did not predictably alter plant-soil feedback interactions between conspecific and heterospecific plant species, indicating that contributions of belowground host-specialists and host-generalists to plant-soil feedbacks were not clearly affected. (3/5)

Key message 1: the legacy effects on future plant performance that individual plants leave in the soil depend on the diversity of the surrounding plant community. (2/5)

The most interesting result, in my opinion, is that whereas rhizosphere communities are resilient, phyllosphere communities can become increasingly dissimilar over time, so that plants in one year interact with a partly different phyllosphere microbiome compared to the previous year.

Yup, was looking for a less moody place :). And indeed...we should catch up!