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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are important root symbionts that can provide benefits to plant hosts, yet we understand little about how neighboring hosts in a plant community contribute to the composition of the AMF community. We hypothesized that the composition of the plant neighborhood, including the identities of both host and neighbor, would alter AMF community composition. We tested this in a glasshouse experiment in which a native perennial grass (Nassella pulchra) and three annual grasses (Avena barbata, Bromus hordeaceaous and Vulpia microstachys) were grown in two neighborhoods: conspecific monocultures and heterospecific perennial-annual mixtures. To identify AMF taxa colonizing plant roots, we used...
Plant invasions have dramatic aboveground effects on plant community composition, but their belowground effects remain largely uncharacterized. Soil microorganisms directly interact with plants and mediate many nutrient transformations in soil. We hypothesized that belowground changes to the soil microbial community provide a mechanistic link between exotic plant invasion and changes to ecosystem nutrient cycling. To examine this possible link, monocultures and mixtures of exotic and native species were maintained for 4 years in a California grassland. Gross rates of nitrogen (N) mineralization and nitrification were quantified with 15N pool dilution and soil microbial communities were characterized with DNA-based...