The book chapter “Application and theory of plant-soil feedbacks on aboveground herbivores” is written in a clear and coherent manner and effectively summarizes the current understanding of plant soil-feedback, in the context of aboveground herbivores. This book chapter introduces key definitions earlier on and builds up on those to illustrate the underlying application and theory on the subject. I am convinced that this chapter will be a valuable addition to the book “Aboveground-belowground Community Ecology”.

Here are a few suggestions:

L352 I would suggest adding salicylic acid and ethylene, along with jasmonic acid as a majority of studies in recent years have highlighted the contribution of these two phytohormones in ISR.

4.2) How plants and insects respond to microbial changes in the soil In this section, I would also like authors to add a brief description about significance and cross talk of three plant-signaling pathways (JA, SA, ET)- triggered by soil microbes- in inducing priming/defense responses against aboveground herbivores.

5) Opportunities and challenges for manipulating plant-soil feedbacks in agriculture I think more and more recent studies have started employing various next generation platforms to understand plant microbiome. Taking this into account, I’d suggest adding a short description in section 5 on whether and how the increased knowledge of plant-associated microbial community structure and composition can be used to manipulate plant-soil feedbacks in agriculture.

L376- negatively