Multifaceted effects of competition and plant-soil feedbacks on Achillea millefolium grown in soil from a riparian meadow : Emil Karlsson - Umeå University - Thesis project - 60 hp

Competition between plant individuals and how plants alter soil properties are key processes which drive changes in plant communities over time. Estimating the relative importance of these processes and how they affect plant growth in different ecological contexts and communities is an active area of research. Furthermore, interdependencies between the two processes have been suggested to occur in many cases, but research in this area is also lacking. In this study, soil conditioned by common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) was collected from field plots and was then used in a growth chamber competition experiment, which controlled for plant-soil feedbacks. Measured soil properties such as soil pH, soil nitrogen, and soil texture were primarily used as background data in the experiment. Field parameters such as light availability, plant density, and grass to forbs ratio were used to predict optimal A. millefolium habitat in relation to other vascular plant species. The results indicate that A. millefolium was a weaker competitor than cornflower (Centaurea cyanus), while a positive plant-soil feedback effect was observed by A. millefolium grown in field soil. Intraspecific competition had a strong negative effect on A. millefolium growth when grown in non-conditioned soil, but not when grown in A. millefolium conditioned soil. Finally, competition and plant-soil feedbacks appeared to be additively affecting A. millefolium growth, meaning the plant-soil feedback effect did not have a disproportionate effect on competitive outcomes, or vice versa. The findings of this study can be of interest to conservationists or farmers who wish to predict how plant communities respond to plant competition and plant-soil feedbacks as processes.