soil feedback

Site conditions affect seedling distribution below and outside the crown of kauri trees (Agathis australis)

It has been suggested that plants can change soil characteristics via their litter to favour their own species. The New Zealand kauri tree (Agathis australis) presents an interesting case for studying such a positive feedback between plant and soil because it has a huge impact upon the soil. We hypothesised that, under mature kauri trees, compared with sites outside the projection of the crown, seedlings of angiosperm trees are relatively rare, while kauri seedlings are relatively common, due to the poor soil conditions and the higher light intensity.