Summary
De Long et al. (2023) provide a comprehensive narrative review of plant-soil feedback (PSF) — the process by which plants condition soil and thereby alter subsequent plant performance — examining both established and emerging abiotic and biotic drivers. The authors reconcile conflicting terminology across related concepts (soil sickness, Janzen-Connell hypothesis, soil legacies, allelopathy, soil-related succession) that have fragmented the PSF literature, and propose holistic experimental frameworks to advance understanding of PSF's role in ecosystem functioning across field and glasshouse contexts. They emphasise the need for unified terminology and consideration of reciprocal feedbacks between extrinsic environment, plants, and soil to realise PSF's potential for steering ecosystem processes.
Regional applicability
The review's insights apply broadly to United Kingdom agricultural and ecological research, where PSF mechanisms underpin soil health, crop performance, and ecosystem services. Terminology harmonisation is particularly relevant to UK soil ecology and regenerative agriculture contexts, where overlapping concepts hinder synthesis; however, the paper does not report UK-specific empirical data, and transferability of mechanistic findings depends on site-specific biotic and abiotic contexts.
Key measures
Not a primary research study; review synthesises mechanisms and drivers of PSF across existing literature; terminology harmonisation; identification of research gaps and outstanding questions
Outcomes reported
This narrative review synthesises knowledge of intrinsic and extrinsic abiotic and biotic drivers of plant-soil feedback (PSF), including maternal effects, plant traits, competition, herbivory, soil organism interactions, climate variables, nutrient dynamics, and priority effects. The study identifies knowledge gaps, reconciles overlapping but disparate terminology used in PSF-related research, and proposes holistic experimental designs and unified frameworks for advancing PSF research across temporal and spatial scales.
Topic tags
Dig deeper with Pulse AI.
Pulse AI has read the whole catalogue. Ask about this record, its theme, or how the findings apply to UK farming and policy — every answer cites the underlying studies.