Soil ‘remembers’ which plants grew there

26-6-2026

Plants not only extract water and nutrients from the soil, they also alter it. Through their roots, they influence the chemical composition of the soil, its structure and the community of bacteria, fungi and other micro-organisms living there. These changes subsequently affect the plants that grow in the same spot later on and, as it were, form the soil’s memory.

This is the finding of a VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) PhD study by Elias Goossens, who investigated how plants influence the soil and how these changes determine the growth of other plants.

In this context, scientists refer to ‘plant-soil feedback’: a continuous interaction between plants and their environment. “You can think of the soil as a memory of the plants that grew there before,” says Goossens. “Plants leave their mark, and this helps determine which species can thrive afterwards.”

Low biodiversity = more invasive alien species

A striking finding from the research is that dominant plant species are often held back by their own impact on the soil. They encourage soil-borne pathogens that primarily affect plants of the same species. The PhD research also sheds new light on invasive plants. When there are fewer different plant species present, invasive plants can benefit more from the absence of their natural competitors. The researchers therefore conclude that species-poor ecosystems are more vulnerable to an ‘invasion’ by invasive plant species. (Source: Vilt.be)