Data from Functional diversity and identity of plant genotypes regulate rhizodeposition and soil microbial activity by M Semchenko, X Piao and T Leigh

Experimental design. Twenty genotypes of Anthoxanthum odoratumwere grown as monocultures of a single genotype or random mixtures of four genotypes. In Experiment 1, root litter and soil were collected after three months of growth and subjected to a combination of genotypic diversity and litter-soil treatments. In the litter-soil match treatment, root litters were placed back into the soil they were produced in. In the mixed soil treatment, root litter produced by the genotypic monocultures or mixtures was placed into homogenised soil collected from all pots. In the mixed litter treatment, root litter collected from all pots was homogenised and placed into soil previously occupied by either genotypic monocultures or mixtures. In Experiment 2, plants were grown in sterilised granite gravel for six weeks and root rhizodeposits were collected in water solution during two weeks, followed by measurements of above- and belowground plant functional traits. Rhizodeposits collected from genotypic monocultures and mixtures, as well as artificial mixtures of rhizodeposits collected from monocultures, were applied to homogenised soil from the field and soil microbial respiration was measured. Microbial activity was related to the quantity and quality of rhizodeposits and plant functional trait variation.