2026-10-09T19:04:13Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33916888 2026-09-18T00:18:53Z category_24238 category_23881 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Data for: Afterlife effects of litter traits modulate rhizosphere multitrophic stability and plant growth–defense strategies Nan Jin (24234636) Josep Peñuelas (2156905) Chongzhe Zhang (25067877) Yan Du (229593) Bingbing Wan (6988883) Xiaoyun Chen (222968) Feng Hu (495188) Manqiang Liu (16880978) Ecology not elsewhere classified Sustainable agricultural development Litter traits Multitrophic associations Multitrophic diversity Plant economic strategy Rhizospheric nitrogen Trade-offs Plant defense <p dir="ltr">1.Trait-based approaches increasingly recognize that the afterlife effects of plants are crucial to ecosystem functioning. Empirical evidence linking litter trait-driven belowground processes to aboveground plant growth–defense strategies, however, remains limited.</p><p dir="ltr">2.We used a long-term field experiment involving annual additions of three contrasting litter types (alfalfa, corn, and rape), with plant and soil samples collected during the fourth and fifth years of litter addition. The litter types differed in six measured traits and spanned a gradient from higher to lower expected decomposability along the litter economics spectrum. We examined how the afterlife effects of litter traits were linked to rhizosphere multitrophic associations and plant growth–defense strategies.</p><p dir="ltr">3.Along the litter economics spectrum from alfalfa through corn to rape, shoot biomass and soluble sugar concentrations declined, whereas leaf jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, and phenolics increased. These responses were primarily associated with lower litter N and higher C:N and lignin:N ratios. Multitrophic diversity increased with decreasing expected litter decomposability, with a parallel increase in the proportion of positive associations during the fifth year of litter addition. Network stability, defined as the ability of the inferred network to maintain cohesion and connectivity under simulated disturbance, was 84–102% higher under corn and rape litter than under alfalfa litter. Greater stability was associated with lower rhizospheric N availability and a shift from an acquisitive, growth-oriented strategy toward a more conservative, defense-oriented strategy.</p><p dir="ltr">4.Synthesis. Our findings connect the afterlife effects of litter traits with rhizosphere multitrophic stability, N availability, and plant growth–defense strategies, extending trait-based frameworks from decomposition to plant performance. Determining the generality of these relationships across a broader range of plant species and ecosystems represents an important next step in advancing trait-based predictions of plant–soil feedbacks.</p> 2026-09-18T00:18:53Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.33916888.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Data_for_Afterlife_effects_of_litter_traits_modulate_rhizosphere_multitrophic_stability_and_plant_growth_defense_strategies/33916888 CC BY 4.0