Soil history strengthens plant diversity effects on fungal diversity and community assembly across the plant-soil continuum

Soil history strengthens plant diversity effects on fungal diversity and community assembly across the plant-soil continuum | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Soil history strengthens plant diversity effects on fungal diversity and community assembly across the plant-soil continuum MUNEER MALLA, Yuanyuan Huang, Anna-Maria Madaj, Cynthia Albracht, and 13 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8899582/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The effects of plant species richness on soil microbial diversity and the associated ecosystem functions strengthen over time. However, the mechanisms underlying the plant diversity effects on fungal diversity and community composition along the plant-soil continuum remain largely unknown. Here, we established a plant diversity gradient (species richness level 1, 2, 3 and 6 plant species), factorially crossed with plant community-specific soil- and plant history treatments derived from a long-term field biodiversity experiment, in an Ecotron experiment. We studied the effect of plant species richness on fungal community diversity and composition across different compartments: bulk soil, rhizosphere, and roots. Using ITS amplicon sequencing, we determined fungal diversity, community composition, and assembly processes across the compartments. Fungal diversity increased significantly with plant species diversity, to varying degrees according to the compartments and history treatments. While plant history did not affect fungal community composition, shared soil history markedly increased fungal richness and affected community composition. Notably, the effect of soil and plant history on the relationship between plant species richness and the fungal diversity depended on the studied compartment, with the strongest positive plant diversity effect on fungal diversity in roots and rhizosphere soil in treatments with shared soil history. Key environmental variables were considered for exploring possible mechanisms responsible for plant species richness and history treatment effects on fungal community diversity and composition, with only plant biomass being a significant mediator. Our findings indicate that plant species richness leaves a legacy in soil, and this plant community-specific soil legacy is a significant driver of fungal diversity and community composition, but only in the compartments directly influenced by roots. Biological sciences/Ecology/Microbial ecology Biological sciences/Ecology/Grassland ecology Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Tables are available in the Supplementary Files section. Supplementary Files Tables20260205.docx Tables 1-3 Supplementarytables.docx Supplementary Tables S1-S7 ExtendedResults20260205.docx Extended Results Supplementaryfigures20251212.docx Supplementary Figures S1-S4 Extendeddataset20260205.xlsx Extended Dataset Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8899582","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":593852105,"identity":"815f721a-6b74-456e-8fec-98bf1c80490d","order_by":0,"name":"MUNEER 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