Where, when and how plant–soil feedback matters in a changing world

Summary It is increasingly acknowledged that plant–soil feedbacks may play an important role in driving the composition of plant communities and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. However, the mechanistic understanding of plant–soil feedbacks, as well as their roles in natural ecosystems in proportion to other possible drivers, is still in its infancy. Such knowledge will enhance our capacity to determine the contribution of plant–soil feedback to community and ecosystem responses under global environmental change. Here, we review how plant–soil feedbacks may develop under extreme drought and precipitation events, CO 2 and nitrogen enrichment, temperature increase, land use change and plant species loss…

• KN
  Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen