Plant diversity shapes microbe-rhizosphere effects on P mobilisation from organic matter in soil

Plant species richness (PSR) increases nutrient uptake which depletes bioavailable nutrient pools in soil. No such relationship between plant uptake and availability in soil was found for phosphorus (P). We explored PSR effects on P mobilisation [phosphatase activity (PA)] in soil. PA increased with PSR. The positive PSR effect was not solely due to an increase in Corg concentrations because PSR remained significant if related to PA:Corg. An increase in PA per unit Corg increases the probability of the temporal and spatial match between substrate, enzyme and microorganism potentially serving as an adaption to competition. Carbon use efficiency of microorganisms (Cmic:Corg) increased with increasing PSR while enzyme exudation efficiency (PA:Cmic) remained constant. These findings suggest the need for efficient C rather than P cycling underlying the relationship between PSR and PA. Our results indicate that the coupling between C and P cycling in soil becomes tighter with increasing PSR.