Data from: Pervasive and strong effects of plants on soil chemistry: a meta-analysis of individual plant ‘Zinke’ effects

Plant species leave a chemical signature in the soils below them,
generating fine-scale spatial variation that drives ecological processes.
Since the publication of a seminal paper on plant-mediated soil
heterogeneity by Paul Zinke in 1962, a robust literature has developed
examining effects of individual plants on their local environments
(individual plant effects). Here, we synthesize this work using
meta-analysis to show that plant effects are strong and pervasive across
ecosystems on six continents. Overall, soil properties beneath individual
plants differ from those of neighbours by an average of 41%. Although the
magnitudes of individual plant effects exhibit weak relationships with
climate and latitude, they are significantly stronger in deserts and
tundra than forests, and weaker in intensively managed ecosystems. The
ubiquitous effects of plant individuals and species on local soil
properties imply that individual plant effects have a role in plant–soil
feedbacks, linking individual plants with biogeochemical processes at the
ecosystem scale.