Evidence for phosphorus cycling parity in nodulating and non‐nodulating N 2 ‐fixing pioneer plant species in glacial primary succession

作者：Shouqin Sun, Wentian Xie, Genxu Wang, Wei Zhang, Zhaoyong Hu, Xiangyang Sun, Hailong Sun, Thomas H. DeLuca · 发表于：Functional Ecology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1111/1365-2435.70023 · 被引用次数：38 · 研究领域：Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics、Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis、Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology

Abstract Nodulating leguminous and actinorhizal N 2 ‐fixation pioneer plants are well‐known drivers of primary succession as they may facilitate soil development and the growth of neighbouring non‐nodulating plant species as a result of their N 2 ‐fixing capacity. However, recent studies have shown that some non‐nodulating species may also obtain N through endophytic diazotrophs, although the N 2 ‐fixing capacity is relatively low when compared with the traditionally nodulating species. There remains limited understanding of how these two categories of N 2 ‐fixing pioneer plant species (nodulating and non‐nodulating) acquire recalcitrant resident soil phosphorus (P) pools and facilitate soil P cycling. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated whether pioneering plant species belonging to different functional groups, that is, nodulating N 2 ‐fixing species (leguminous Astragalus mahoshanicus and actinorhizal seabuckthorn Hippophae rhamnoides ) and non‐nodulating endophytic N 2 ‐fixing willow species ( Salix rehderiana ), have distinct rhizosphere soil P chemistry when grown on barren deglaciated moraine. We also examined if plant‐induced changes in soil P transformations are related to the relative abundance of microbial P transformation genes. Our results showed that pioneer plant colonization enhanced soil P cycling, as indicated by higher concentrations of available P (Olsen‐P), alkaline phosphatase activity, and abundance of key genes governing microbial P cycling in...