PREMISE Understanding edaphic specialization is crucial for conserving rare plants that may need relocation due to habitat loss. Focusing on Eriogonum crosbyae, a rare soil specialist in the Great Basin of the United States, we asked how site-level variation among volcanic soil outcrops affected plant growth and population distribution. METHODS We measured emergence, survival, size, and biomass allocation of E. crosbyae seedlings planted in soils collected from 42 outcrops of actual and potential habitat. We also measured phenotypic variation in the wild, documented abiotic and biotic components of E. crosbyae habitat, re-surveyed Nevada populations, and evaluated occupancy changes over time. RESULTS Plants responded plastically to edaphic variation, growing larger and allocating relatively more to aboveground tissues in soils with greater nutrient availability and growing smaller in soils higher in copper in the field and the greenhouse. However, the chemical and physical soil properties we measured did not predict site occupancy, nor was plant phenotype in the greenhouse different when plants were grown in soils from sites with different occupation status. We observed occupation status reversals at five locations. CONCLUSIONS Eriogonum crosbyae performed well in soils formed on hydrothermally altered rocks that are inhospitable to many other plants. Extirpation/colonization events observed were consistent with metapopulation dynamics, which may partially explain the patchy distribution of E. crosbyae among outcrops of potential habitat. While soil properties did not predict site occupancy, early life stages showed sensitivity to soil variation, indicating that seedling dynamics may be important to consider for the conservation of this soil specialist.

中文翻译：

---

土壤专家有多专业？一种罕见的 Eriogonum 对火山土壤场地水平变化的早期生命史响应

前提 了解土壤专业化对于保护因栖息地丧失而可能需要重新安置的稀有植物至关重要。我们以美国大盆地罕见的土壤专家 Eriogonum crosbyae 为中心，询问火山土壤露头的场地水平变化如何影响植物生长和种群分布。方法我们测量了从 42 个实际和潜在栖息地露头收集的土壤中种植的 E. crosbyae 幼苗的出苗、存活、大小和生物量分配。我们还测量了野外的表型变异，记录了 E. crosbyae 栖息地的非生物和生物成分，重新调查了内华达州的种群，并评估了占用率随时间的变化。结果 植物对土壤变异有可塑性响应，在养分可利用性更高的土壤中生长得更大，并相对更多地分配给地上组织，而在田间和温室中铜含量较高的土壤中生长得更小。然而，我们测量的土壤化学和物理特性并不能预测场地占用，当植物在来自不同占用状态的场地的土壤中生长时，温室中的植物表型也没有不同。我们观察到五个地点的职业地位逆转。结论 Eriogonum crosbyae 在热液蚀变岩石上形成的土壤中表现良好，这些岩石对许多其他植物不适宜生长。观察到的灭绝/殖民事件与复合种群动态一致，这可能部分解释了 E. crosbyae 在潜在栖息地露头中的斑驳分布。虽然土壤特性不能预测场地占用，