%0 Journal Article
%A De Lara-Del Rey, Irene Ariadna
%A Pérez-Fernández, María
%A Magadlela, Anathi
%T The Interplay of Light and Microbial Symbiosis in Shaping Plant Economic Spectrum Strategies
%D 2026
%U https://hdl.handle.net/10433/27252
%X Legume-rhizobia symbiosis are fundamental drivers of nitrogen cycling and plant performance, yet their role in facilitatingspecies strategies along the Plant Economic Spectrum (PES) remains insufficiently understood. We conducted a fieldexperiment with four legume species subjected to light and shade treatments, with and without rhizobial inoculation, toassess plant survival, biomass accumulation, nodulation, nitrogen acquisition, and isotopic signatures, alongside microbialcommunity diversity and shifts in vegetation composition. Results demonstrate that inoculation significantly enhancedsurvival, growth rates, nitrogen accumulation, and nodulation across species, particularly under light conditions, indicatingthat microbial symbiosis promotes acquisitive strategies within the PES framework. Contrary, shaded environmentsconsistently favoured higher survival and root allocation but reduced growth, nodulation, and nitrogen fixation, reflectingmore conservative resource-use strategies. Species-specific responses revealed differential PES positioning: Trifoliumrepens L. exhibited high acquisitive capacity under light, while Coronilla juncea L. showed poor survival and growthunder both conditions, highlighting the interaction between phylogenetic identity and resource availability. Additionally,δ¹⁵N and %Ndfa values confirmed that inoculation increased nitrogen fixation efficiency, whereas microbial diversity analysesindicated strong shifts in soil bacterial communities associated with inoculated plants, suggesting feedback betweensymbiosis and soil microbiota. These findings support two main hypotheses: (i) rhizobial inoculation acts as a biotic driverpromoting acquisitive strategies by enhancing resource acquisition and growth efficiency, and (ii) light availability servesas an abiotic axis that modulates species positions along the PES continuum. Together, our study provides novel evidencethat both microbial interactions and resource availability jointly determine legume strategies within the PES.
%K Plant Economic Spectrum
%K Legumes
%K Rhizobia
%K Inoculation
%K Light availability
%K Nitrogen fixation
%K Microbial diversity
%~