Dataset of global plant-soil feedback

Plant-soil feedback (PSF) is an important mechanism determining plant
community dynamics and structure. Understanding the geographic patterns
and drivers of PSF is essential for understanding the mechanisms
underlying geographic plant diversity patterns. We compiled a large
dataset containing 5969 observations of PSF from 202 studies to
demonstrate the global patterns and drivers of PSF for woody and non-woody
species. Overall, PSF was negative on average and was influenced by plant
attributes and environmental settings. Woody species PSFs did not vary
with latitude, but non-woody PSFs were more negative at higher latitudes.
PSF was consistently more positive with increasing aridity for both woody
and non-woody species, likely due to increased mutualistic microbes
relative to soil-borne pathogens. These findings were consistent between
field and greenhouse experiments, suggesting that PSF variation can be
driven by soil legacies from climates. Our findings call for caution to
use PSF as an explanation of the latitudinal diversity gradient and
highlight that aridity can influence plant community dynamics and
structure across broad scales through mediating plant soil-microbe
interactions.