Individuals were transplanted into pots containing either the local soil or the reference soil. Six individuals of each species were planted per pot (hereafter: “community”), with five replicates of each soil type per site (Fig. 2 ). Consequently, 1,080 individuals were used in the experiment. Communities were buried into the ground, watered for ten days, and then left to grow under natural conditions. After one year, the number of surviving and reproducing individuals, as well as the maximum growth height of each species were recorded. Five leaves were collected per plant for leaf area and dry weight measurements. Then, surviving plants were harvested at 3 cm above the soil. Species-specific biomass was weighed and dried at 60 ºC for 48 hours. Community root biomass was harvested, dried, and weighed.