Data from: Drought soil legacy overrides maternal effects on plant growth

1.Maternal effects (i.e., trans‐generational plasticity) and soil legacies
generated by drought and plant diversity can affect plant performance and
alter nutrient cycling and plant community dynamics. However, the relative
importance and combined effects of these factors on plant growth dynamics
remain poorly understood. 2.We used soil and seeds from an existing plant
diversity and drought manipulation field experiment in temperate grassland
to test maternal, soil drought and diversity legacy effects, and their
interactions, on offspring plant performance of two grassland species
(Alopecurus pratensis and Holcus lanatus) under contrasting glasshouse
conditions. 3.Our results showed that drought soil legacy effects eclipsed
maternal effects on plant biomass. Drought soil legacy effects were
attributed to changes in both abiotic (i.e., nutrient availability) and
biotic soil properties (i.e., microbial carbon, enzyme activity), as well
as plant root and shoot atom 15N excess. Further, plant tissue nutrient
concentrations and soil microbial C:N responses to drought legacies varied
between the two plant species and soils from high and low plant diversity
treatments. However, these diversity effects did not affect plant root or
shoot biomass. 4.These findings demonstrate that while maternal effects
resulting from drought occur in grasslands, their impacts on plant
performance are likely minor relative to drought legacy effects on soil
abiotic and biotic properties. This suggests that soil drought legacy
effects could become increasingly important drivers of plant community
dynamics and ecosystem functioning as extreme weather events become more
frequent and intense with climate change.