A former member of the Zak lab has recently published a paper, titled “Plant effects on and response to soil microbes in native and non-native Phragmites australis” in Ecology. The aim of the study was to examine if Plant–soil feedbacks (PSFs) mediate plant community dynamics with specific focus on if this could contribute to plant invasions. He did a series of microbial inhibitor treatments on native and non-native Phragmites, but found that opposite of expectations both lineages were negatively impacted, especially the non-native plants, which indicates that that the success of non-native Phragmites is not a result of soil microbe – plant interactions. It can be found here.
