Data from: Plant performance was greater in the soils of more distantly related plants for an herbaceous understory species

Growing evidence suggests that plant–soil interactions have important implications for plant community composition. However, the role of phylogenetic relatedness in governing interactions between plants and soil biota is unclear, and more case studies are needed to help build a general picture of whether and how phylogeny might influence plant–soil interactions. We performed a glasshouse experiment to test whether degree of phylogenetic relatedness between Aquilegia canadensis and six co-occurring heterospecifics affects A. canadensis biomass through soil legacy effects. We also compared performance of A. canadensis in soils conditioned by invasive Alliaria petiolata versus native heterospecifics, hypothesizing that conditioning by A. petiolata would suppress the performance of the focal native plant. A. canadensis performed significantly better in distant relatives’ soils than in close relatives’ soils, and this effect disappeared with soil sterilization, consistent with close relatives sharing similar pathogens. Contrary to our expectations, soils conditioned by the invasive species A. petiolata versus by native species had similar effects on A. canadensis. The greater performance of A. canadensis in soils of more versus less distant relatives is consistent with a hypothesis of phylogenetically constrained pathogen escape, a phenomenon expected to promote coexistence of phylogenetically distant species. However, pairwise plant–soil feedback experiments are needed to create a stronger coexistence prediction.越来越多的研究证据表明，植物-土壤相互作用对植物群落组成具有重要影响。然而，系统发育亲缘关系在调控植物与土壤生物群落相互作用中的作用仍不明确，亟需开展更多案例研究，以明确系统发育是否以及如何影响植物-土壤相互作用，从而构建普适性的认知框架。 本研究通过温室栽培实验，检验加拿大耧斗菜（Aquilegia canadensis）与6种同域分布异种植物之间的系统发育亲缘关系程度，是否通过土壤遗留效应影响加拿大耧斗菜的生物量。本研究还对比了加拿大耧斗菜在入侵种欧亚香花芥（Alliaria petiolata）驯化土壤与本土异种植物驯化土壤中的生长表现，并提出假说：欧亚香花芥的土壤驯化作用会抑制目标本土植物的生长表现。 加拿大耧斗菜在远缘亲缘植物驯化土壤中的生长表现显著优于近缘亲缘植物驯化土壤，且该效应在土壤灭菌后消失，这与近缘物种共享相似病原菌的假说一致。 与本研究的预期相反，入侵种欧亚香花芥驯化土壤与本土物种驯化土壤对加拿大耧斗菜的生长影响并无显著差异。 加拿大耧斗菜在远缘程度更高的植物驯化土壤中生长表现更佳，这与系统发育限制的病原菌逃逸假说相符——该现象被认为可促进系统发育远缘物种的共存。 不过，仍需开展成对植物-土壤反馈实验，以获得更可靠的物种共存预测结果。