The extended phenotype: plants as shapers of microbial communities

It can be tempting to reduce the scope of our concern around crop plants to the harvestable yield of grain or biomass, but plants actually accomplish much more than this. Wider effects of crop plants on interacting organisms and on properties of the agroecosystem represent an extended phenotype that reaches beyond the body of the organism itself. A deeper understanding and more careful consideration of these extended phenotypes, particularly as they impact the broader biotic community, offers opportunity to improve our agroecosystems. In this chapter, the author explores how plants influence microbial communities, how such extended phenotypic effects can feedback to benefit or harm plant performance, and how agroecosystems present unique opportunities and challenges for harnessing extended plant phenotypes.