Harper Prize Highly Commended Papers 2017: Plant-Soil Interactions (Part 1)

Each year, as well as selecting an overall winner for the Harper Prize (Jenny Zambrano, see previous blog post), the editors of Journal of Ecology also select two highly commended papers.

This year the two highly commended papers are from Connor Fitzpatrick et al. titled ‘Phylogenetic relatedness, phenotypic similarity and plant–soil feedbacks‘ and myself, Pierre Mariotte et al. titled ‘Stoichiometric N:P flexibility and mycorrhizal symbiosis favour plant resistance against drought‘.

In this first Harper Prize video podcast, Connor presents the findings of his study aiming at linking phylogenetic relatedness and phenotypic similarity to the outcome of plant-soil feedback. Stay tuned for the second video where I will present the findings of my study on the role of plant-soil interactions in drought resistance.

The video is available below and can also be found on the Journal of Ecology YouTube channel (english subtitles available).

Connor is a plant ecologist finishing up his PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. He studies the ecological and evolutionary importance of interactions between plants and soil. He focuses on how variation within and among plant species can shape soil environments and how soil, in turn, can shape plant populations and communities. His work includes a combination of field and greenhouse based studies.