New article from our collaborators at Leiden University
Effects of soil biotic and abiotic characteristics on tree growth and aboveground herbivory during early afforestation
During early afforestation stages, biotic and abiotic soil characteristics change at different paces. However, the extent that each of these characteristics contribute to plant performance and subsequent herbivory remains unclear. This study aimed to study the effects of biotic and abiotic characteristics of forest soil on Alnus glutinosa performance and their subsequent impact on foliar herbivory during early afforestation. Soils were collected from a series of replicated forests of 10, 15 or 25 years old, planted in agricultural soils. Two experiments were conducted, focusing on the effect of soil microbiome (live vs. sterilized forest soil, and bulk sterilized soil vs. bulk inoculated with forest soil) and forest age on tree performance, root-associated microbial communities, and plant-herbivore interactions. In 10-year-old forest soil....
Please check the article here https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092913932400310X#ab0010
Congratulation to Kostas Georgopoulos and the team.