Plant species richness does not attenuate responses of soil microbial and nematode communities to a flood event

Human activities are causing climatic changes and alter the composition and biodiversity of ecosystems. Climate change has been and will be increasing the frequency and severity of extreme climate events and natural disasters like floods in many ecosystems. Therefore, it is important to investigate the effects of disturbances on ecosystems and identify potential stabilizing features of ecological communities. In this study, soil microbial and nematode communities were investigated in a grassland biodiversity experiment after a natural flood to investigate if plant diversity is able to attenuate or reinforce the magnitude of effects of the disturbance on soil food webs. In addition to community analyses of soil microorganisms and nematodes, the stability indices proportional resilience, proportional recovery, and proportional resistance were calculated. Generally, soil microbial biomass decreased significantly due to the flood with the strongest reduction in gram-negative bacteria, while gram-positive bacteria were less affected by flooding. Fungal biomass increased significantly three months after the flood compared to few days before the flood, reflecting elevated availability of dead plant biomass in response to the flood. Similar to the soil microbial community, nematode community structure changed considerably due to the flood by favoring colonizers (in the broadest sense r-strategists; c–p 1, 2 nematodes), particularly so at high plant diversity. None of the soil microbial community stability indices and few of the nematode stability indices were significantly affected by plant diversity, indicating limited potential of plant diversity to buffer soil food webs against flooding disturbance. However, plant diversity destabilized colonizer populations, while persister populations (in the broadest sense K-strategists; c–p 4 nematodes) were stabilized, suggesting that plant diversity can stabilize and destabilize populations depending on the ecology of the focal taxa. The present study shows that changes in plant diversity and subsequent alterations in resource availability may significantly modify the compositional shifts of soil food webs in response to disturbances.     

Effect of density and species richness of soil mesofauna on nutrient mineralisation and plant growth

The aim of this study was to test the relative importance of changes in density and species richness of soil mesofauna as determinants of nutrient mineralisation and plant growth. The experiment was carried out using microcosms containing a mixture of plant litter and soil in which seedlings of Lolium perenne were planted, and a range of combinations of levels of density and species richness of microarthropods added. Over the duration of the experiment, nutrient release, measured as concentrations of NO₃ ^--N and total N in leachates, increased significantly with increasing microarthropod density, but decreased with increasing species richness. Leachate concentrations of NH₄ ⁺-N, dissolved organic N and C (DON and DOC) were not affected by the faunal treatments. Soil respiration, a measure of microbial activity, decreased with increasing density of microarthropods, whereas microbial biomass was not affected by microarthropods. Increasing density of soil animals had a negative effect on the shoot biomass of L. perenne while the effect of species richness was positive. Neither the species richness nor density of soil microarthropods was found to significantly influence root biomass. We conclude that variations in animal density had a greater influence on soil nutrient mineralisation processes than did species richness. Possible reasons for these opposing effects of animal density and diversity on soil N mobilization are discussed.     

Species richness of ectomycorrhizal hyphal necromass increases soil CO2 efflux under laboratory conditions

The ectomycorrhizal mycelium is a large component of boreal and temperate forest soil microbial biomass and the resulting necromass is likely to be an important source of nutrients for saprotrophic microorganisms. Here we test the effects of species richness of ectomycorrhizal mycelial biomass on short-term CO₂ efflux by amending forest soil with necromass from 8 fungal species added separately and in mixtures of 2, 4 and 8 species. All additions of necromass rapidly increased soil CO₂ efflux compared to unamended controls but CO₂ efflux increased significantly with species richness. Efflux of CO₂ did not correlate with the carbon (C) or nitrogen (N) contents or the C:N ratio of the added necromass. The study demonstrates that species diversity of dead ectomycorrhizal fungal hyphae can have important consequences for soil CO₂ efflux, and suggests decomposition of hyphae is regulated by specific constituents of the nutrient pools in the necromass rather than the total quantities added.     

Do plant species encourage soil biota that specialise in the rapid decomposition of their litter?

Plants are often nutrient limited and soil organisms are important in mediating nutrient availability to plants. Thus, there may be a selective advantage to plants that alter the soil community in ways that enhance the decomposition of their litter and, hence, their ability to access nutrients. We incubated litter from three tree species (Fagus sylvatica, Acer pseudoplatanus and Picea sitchensis) in the presence of biota extracted from soil beneath a stand of each species to test the hypothesis that litter decomposes fastest in the presence of biota derived from soil where that species is locally abundant. We found that respiration rate, a measure of decomposer activity and carbon mineralisation, was affected by litter type and source of soil biota, whereas, mass loss was only affected by litter type. However, litter from each tree species did not decompose faster in the presence of indigenous soil biota. These findings, therefore, provide no support for the notion that woodland plants encourage the development of soil communities that rapidly decompose their litter.     

玉米根系在土壤剖面中的分布研究

玉米根系在土壤剖面中的分布是准确量化植被与气候相互作用不可缺少的参数,也是玉米生产科学管理和节水农业发展的重要科学依据.在中国气象科学研究院固城生态环境与农业气象实验站内的大型根系观测系统中,采用地下室玻璃窗观测法和方形整段标本法,观测了"屯玉46号"玉米的根深、根宽、根长和根重,分析了玉米根长、根长密度、根重密度和根系粗度等在土壤剖面中的分布状况.结果表明,玉米根长、根干重均随土壤深度的增加基本呈递减类型.吐丝期0～40 cm土层根长占整层根长51.5%,0～80 cm土层占76.2%,0～120 cm土层占90.5%.乳熟后期其分布趋势与吐丝期相似.玉米根系粗度随着土壤深度增加,在上层呈减少分布型,在下层呈增加分布型.乳熟后期,玉米最大根深可达230 cm,根长总量达8.288 km·m-2,显示出该玉米品种有较发达的根系.通过玻璃窗观测的根深大于远离玻璃窗处的根深.     

A modified soil coring method for measuring fine root production,mortality and decomposition in forests

Fine root (diameter < 2 mm) production, mortality and decomposition have been poorly estimated at ecosystem scales due to technical limitations. The soil coring method can accurately assess fine root biomass and necromass, but the concurrent growth, death and decomposition processes were not reasonably assessed during the sampling period, leading to greatly biased rate estimates. We developed a dynamic-flow method with two variations to address these processes by combining the soil coring method with an improved decomposition experiment. For a certain interval i (1 ≤ i) in the growing season, the dead fine roots were classified into fine roots dying before the start of interval i (G_Ⅰ-i) and those dying during interval i (G_Ⅱ-i). The decompositions of G_Ⅰ-i and G_Ⅱ-i were separately quantified and integrated into a modified mass balance model to estimate the production, mortality and decomposition. An example study conducted in a secondary Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica Fischer ex Ledebour) forest showed that fine root production, mortality and decomposition were greatly underestimated by conventional soil coring methods failing to address the simultaneous growth, death and decomposition processes but overestimated by the method in which the decompositions of G_Ⅰ-i and G_Ⅱ-i were not separately determined and the decomposition rate was assumed to be constant. The dynamic-flow method greatly improved the accuracy of fine root estimates and can be widely applied to forests.     

Assessment of tree species richness as a surrogate for macrofungal species richness

Attempts to understand and conserve biodiversity are hampered by a lack of information about many taxonomic groups, particularly those groups that are the most species rich. Although fungi are ubiquitous and play an important role in decomposition, nutrient cycling and nutrient uptake, little is known about fungal diversity, as fungi are usually cryptic and ephemeral. Based on a meta-analysis of macrofungal diversity studies, we show that tree diversity is a promising surrogate for macrofungal diversity at large spatial scales. We present evidence that trees species richness can be used to predict macrofungal species richness and that on the global scale, the distribution of individual tree and macrofungal species notably differs. Additionally our findings provide support for the use of “ratio estimates” to estimate fungal species richness.     

Soil fauna feeding activity in temperate grassland soils increases with legume and grass species richness

Edaphic fauna contributes to important ecosystem functions in grassland soils such as decomposition and nutrient mineralization. Since this functional role is likely to be altered by global change and associated shifts in plant communities, a thorough understanding of large scale drivers on below-ground processes independent of regional differences in soil type or climate is essential. We investigated the relationship between abiotic (soil properties, management practices) and biotic (plant functional group composition, vegetation characteristics, soil fauna abundance) predictors and feeding activity of soil fauna after accounting for sample year and study region. Our study was carried out over a period of two consecutive years in 92 agricultural grasslands in three regions of Germany, spanning a latitudinal gradient of more than 500 km. A structural equation model suggests that feeding activity of soil fauna as measured by the bait-lamina test was positively related to legume and grass species richness in both years. Most probably, a diverse vegetation promotes feeding activity of soil fauna via alterations of both microclimate and resource availability. Feeding activity of soil fauna also increased with earthworm biomass via a pathway over Collembola abundance. The effect of earthworms on the feeding activity in soil may be attributed to their important role as ecosystem engineers. As no additional effects of agricultural management such as fertilization, livestock density or number of cuts on bait consumption were observed, our results suggest that the positive effect of legume and grass species richness on the feeding activity in soil fauna is a general one that will not be overruled by regional differences in management or environmental conditions. We thus suggest that agri-environment schemes aiming at the protection of belowground activity and associated ecosystem functions in temperate grasslands may generally focus on maintaining plant diversity, especially with regard to the potential effects of climate change on future vegetation structure.     

Functional implications of soil fauna diversity in boreal forests

This paper is a review of recent experiments dealing with the role of soil fauna in decomposition, mineralisation and primary production in coniferous forest soils. The experiments have been grouped according to the degree and nature of the ‘diversity gradient' between the ‘more diverse' community and its control: single animal species or an uncontrolled mixture of species versus microbiota only, several known animal species of the same trophic group versus one species only (species diversity), two or more functional groups versus one only, and food chains with predators versus microbes and microbivores only. The evidence available at present suggests that taxonomic diversity and predation have no consistent effects on the process rates in soil, while adding to the ‘functional' or ‘trophic group diversity' results in a more predictable enhancement in mineralisation. Especially the enchytraeid Cognettia sphagnetorum seems to be a keystone species in boreal forest soils. However, there are only few experiments in which species diversity per se has been taken as a separate factor, without a simultaneous change in the number of trophic groups or in total decomposer biomass.     

Tillage alters corn root distribution in coarse-textured soil

Root responses to tillage vary and the driving factors are not well understood. Characterization of root response is requisite to optimize fertilizer placement and to understand limitations to no-till production. Corn (Zea mays L.) root length and weight were measured in the top 0.3 m of coarse-textured soil (Psammentic Hapludalf) in southwestern Ontario, Canada after 5, 6 and 7 yr of conventional and no-till management. Root length density in the top 0.1 m was greater under no-till (17 km m⁻³) than under conventional till (7 km m⁻³) 2 yr out of 3. Root length density was 4 km m⁻³ lower under no-till than under conventional till in the 0.15 to 0.3 m layer 1 yr out of 3, but otherwise root growth below 0.1 m was unaffected by tillage. Each year, root length and weight were distributed more horizontally under no-till than under conventional till. Corn grain yields did not vary with tillage, even though soil water content was often greater under no-till. The increase in soil water (of between 0.01 and 0.03 m³ m⁻³) was partly due to increased water holding capacity—water held between −8 and −200 kPa matric potential was usually greater under no-till (0.07 m³ m⁻³) than under conventional till (0.06 m³ m⁻³) in the top 0.15 m. The shift in root distribution was apparently driven by soil structure because variation in bulk density with tillage and depth followed the same trends as variation in root length. Bulk density was greater under no-till (1.5 Mg m⁻³) than under conventional till (1.4 Mg m⁻³) in the top 0.15 m. In the top 0.075 m, the proportion of the total space occupied by capillary pores (<36 μm diameter) was greater under no-till (17%) than under conventional till (15%), there were more dry-stable aggregates under no-till (9% of total soil in the 0.85–5.7 mm size fraction) than under conventional till (7%), and a greater proportion of these aggregates were water-stable under no-till (25%) than under conventional till (16%). Greater bulk density may trigger formation of lateral roots, and greater aggregation contribute to the more superficial development by deflecting roots from their gravitropic pathway. Given the more superficial root distribution under no-till, shallower placement of downwardly mobile nutrients such as nitrogen may be more efficient than knife-injection.     

Effects of tree species and topography on soil chemistry, litter quality, and decomposition in Northeast Turkey

Leaf litters from beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky.) and oak (Quercus robur L.), and needle litters from fir (Abies nordmanniana Spach.) and pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) trees were collected from north-facing site and south-facing site and at three slope positions (top, middle and bottom) on each aspect that varied in soil chemical characteristics (soil pH, cation exchange capacity and base saturation). The litters were analysed for initial total carbon, nitrogen, acid detergent fibre, lignin and cellulose concentrations. Nitrogen, acid detergent fibre and lignin concentrations and carbon:nitrogen and lignin:nitrogen ratios varied significantly within and between species according to soil chemical characteristics on aspects and slope positions. Litter decomposition was studied in the field using the litterbag technique. The litters were placed on two aspects and at three slopes on each aspect in October 2001, and were sampled every 6-month for 2 years. The main effects of aspect, species and slope position on decomposition rates were all statistically significant. Oak leaf litter showed highest decomposition rates, followed by pine, fir and beech litter, and the litters placed on north-facing site decomposed faster than those on the south-facing site. The litters placed at the top slope position decomposed slower than at those at either the bottom or middle positions. Initial lignin concentrations explained most of the variation in decomposition rates between species, and within species for the aspects and the slope positions, but the explained variance showed differences between aspects and slope positions. This result illustrates the important point that litter quality may define the potential rates of microbial decomposition but these are significantly influenced by the biotic and abiotic environment in which decomposition takes place.     

土壤水分对作物根系生长及分布的调控作用

研究了作物根系生长、分布对不同土壤水分条件,特别是水分胁迫条件和不同灌溉方式的动态响应特征及其与冠部生长、籽粒产量和水分利用的关系,指出对作物根系实施调控的方法,为寻求节水高产途径提供了可靠依据。     

A method of processing soil core samples for root studies by subsampling

Root studies are generally believed to be very important in ecological research. Soil coring is a valuable approach to root research, but it requires a very large amount of processing time. We present here a method for processing soil cores consisting of the combination and homogenization of several soil cores from a plot, with subsequent subsampling for root extraction. The required subsample size was determined for a topsoil and a subsoil sample from a groundnut field and was found to be 5–10% of the total soil sample. Advantages and limitations of the method are discussed.     

Moisture modulates rhizosphere effects on C decomposition in two different soil types

While it is well known that soil moisture directly affects microbial activity and soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition, it is unclear if the presence of plants alters these effects through rhizosphere processes. We studied soil moisture effects on SOM decomposition with and without sunflower and soybean. Plants were grown in two different soil types with soil moisture contents of 45% and 85% of field capacity in a greenhouse experiment. We continuously labeled plants with depleted ¹³C, which allowed us to separate plant-derived CO₂-C from original soil-derived CO₂-C in soil respiration measurements. We observed an overall increase in soil-derived CO₂-C efflux in the presence of plants (priming effect) in both soils. On average a greater priming effect was found in the high soil moisture treatment (up to 76% increase in soil-derived CO₂-C compared to control) than in the low soil moisture treatment (up to 52% increase). Greater plant-derived CO₂-C and plant biomass in the high soil moisture treatment contributed to greater priming effects, but priming effects remained significantly higher in the high moisture treatment than in the low moisture treatment after correcting for the effects of plant-derived CO₂-C and plant biomass. The response to soil moisture particularly occurred in the sandy loam soil by the end of the experiment. Possibly, production of root exudates increased with increased soil moisture content. Root exudation of labile C may also have become more effective in stimulating microbial decomposition in the higher soil moisture treatment and sandy loam soil. Our results indicate that moisture conditions significantly modulate rhizosphere effects on SOM decomposition.     

Plant species richness in midfield islets and road verges - The effect of landscape fragmentation

Small marginal habitats in the rural landscape may play an important role for plant species richness as refugias. Little is known how the surrounding landscape and landscape history influence these patterns. I analysed how plant species richness was affected by isolation, habitat area, past and present land use, and if landscape context matters. Plant species occurrence in two different types of small marginal habitats were analysed, road verges and midfield islets. The study was conducted in two different agricultural landscapes in Sweden; one open modern agricultural landscape and one traditional rural landscape, and the results compared. Present and past land use, and landscape change was analysed using aerial photographs and old maps. There was a large grassland reduction more than 50 years ago in the modern landscape, when there still were quite a lot of grasslands left in the traditional landscape. Area and connectivity were more important for plant incidence in small remnant habitats in the modern landscape, compared to the less fragmented, traditional rural landscape. On the other hand there were more grassland specialists, 23% in the traditional landscape compared to 16%. Species richness became higher on midfield islet if grazing was re-introduced. The legacy of surrounding landscape remains in the species pool for a long time, atleast 50 years, even in small grassland fragments. Although small grassland remnants are more sensitive to fragmentation effects compared to larger grasslands, they still encompass a substantial part of the grassland species pool and may be valuable for reconstructing grassland management at a landscape scale.     

Long-term litter decay in Canadian forests and the influence of soil microbial community and soil chemistry

Long-term rates of litter decay have been shown to be primarily influenced by temperature, moisture and litter quality. However, while decomposition is a biological process, the relative importance of microbial communities and other soil chemistry factors is not well understood. Our analysis examined long-term litter decay parameters, microbial community composition via phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis, and soil organic horizon chemistry at 14 upland forested sites. Data were collected as part of the Canadian Intersite Decomposition Experiment (CIDET), a 12-year national litter decomposition experiment. Residual errors from a two-pool exponential decay model with decay rates modified by mean annual air temperature and moisture stress were compared to PLFA marker groups and chemistry variables. Residual errors were not well explained by soil PLFA marker group abundance or concentration, soil pH, nor soil C:N ratios. The best predictor of residual error was soil carbon percent (%C), with higher %C associated with slower than predicted decomposition.     

Evaluation of the soil fauna impact on decomposition in a simulated coniferous forest soil

Summary Long-term experiments (ca. 2 years) were carried out in laboratory systems that simulated the complexity of a coniferous forest floor. The test materials were partially sterilized by freezing and thawing, and reinoculated with (1) microbes alone or (2) microbes with fauna. Removable microcosms containing birch litter, spruce litter, or humus were inserted into a humus substrate. Two experiments used organic matter only, and another included a layer of mineral soil below the humus. Both were incubated in climate chambers that simulated both summer and winter conditions. The evolution of CO₂ was measured at regular intervals. In order to determine the C content of the leachates, the macrocosms and the microcosms were watered periodically.Soil fauna significantly increased respiration in the litter, but not in the microcosms containing humus. In the later phases of decomposition the presence of fauna had a negative effect. In the total systems the fauna consistently increased the respiration rate. The loss of mass was greater in the presence of fauna, especially during the middle phases (5–11 months), but it was higher in the controls later.Throughout the whole incubation period the decomposition rate was strongly influenced by the composition of the animal community. The interpretation of the results is affected by the fact that the controls, to which no fauna had been added, contained dense populations of microbial feeders (nematodes, rotifers, and protozoans).     

Linking species richness, biodiversity and ecosystem function in soil systems

Soils are the central organizing entities in terrestrial ecosystems and possess extremely diverse prokaryotic and eukaryotic biota. They are physically and chemically complex, with micro- and macro-aggregates embedded within a solid, liquid and gaseous matrix that is continually changing in response to natural and human-induced perturbations. Recent advances in molecular techniques in systematics have provided opportunities for the study of biodiversity and biocomplexity of soil biota. A symposium and workshop on soil biogeochemistry and biodiversity International Symposium on Impacts of Soil Biodiversity on Biogeochemical Processes in Ecosystems, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, Taipei, Taiwan April 18-24, 2004. Convened an international array of participants working in biomes on virtually every continent on the planet (ranging from polar to tropical regions). This special issue reports on the theoretical bases and applications of molecular methods for the measurement of soil biodiversity.

Themes addressed include a melding of classical taxonomic investigations with biochemical fingerprinting and molecular probing of organism identities. Several papers highlight new advances in identifications of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Examples include new developments in “fingerprinting” of microbes active in “mycorrhizospheres” using immunocapture and other innovative techniques. Developments in the study of impacts of invasive plant and animal species on ecosystem function and subsequent microbial community composition and function have been very great in the last 2-3 years. Soils are major repositories of legacies, including fine and coarse woody debris and other organic products, which have feedbacks on soil diversity. The ways in which species diversity and function of microbial and faunal communities interact and their importance to ecosystem function are examined in biological and biochemical detail. This paper provides an overview of soil biodiversity and its feedbacks on soil biogeochemical processes in ecosystems.     

Predicting soil fauna effect on plant litter decomposition by using boosted regression trees

Extensive studies have been conducted to evaluate the effect of soil fauna on plant litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. However, scholars have reported inconsistent results on the direction and magnitude of the soil fauna effect. We present a global synthesis of 75 papers that cover 197 plant species with 543 cases of plant litter decomposition experiments and soil fauna effects on plant litter decomposition. By using a boosted regression tree model (BRT), we aim to provide a synthesis of existing data that comprehensively and quantitatively evaluates how climate, plant litter quality, and study methods interact with soil fauna in affecting plant litter decomposition. Global average effect size (ES) is −0.426, which indicates a 35% lower decomposition rate when soil fauna is excluded by physical or chemical exclusion techniques. The final model explains 32.3% of the variation in ES. The predictors that substantially account for the explained variation include mean annual temperature (MAT, 37.1%), mean annual precipitation (MAP, 9.7%), phosphorus (12.4%), nitrogen (5.6%), and lignin content (5.5%). By contrast, the heterogeneity of the study duration and soil fauna exclusion technique have negligible contributions (each <5%). Log effect size strongly decreases with both MAT and MAP. Plant litters with high quality have stronger soil fauna effect because the log effect size is negatively related to nitrogen and phosphorus content and positively related to lignin content. Our analysis demonstrates the critical role of climate and plant litter quality in determining the soil fauna effect on plant litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the large unexplained variation (67.7%) in ES in the BRT model indicates undiscovered mechanisms underlying the soil fauna effect in our analysis. We call for further studies on this topic in the future.     

Effects of Collembola on root properties of two competing ruderal plant species

Plant roots compete for nutrients mineralised by the decomposer community in soil. By affecting microbial biomass and activity Collembola influence the nutrient availability to plants. We investigated the effect of Collembola (Protaphorura fimata Gisin) on growth and competition between of two plant species, Cirsium arvense L (creeping thistle) and Epilobium adnatum Griseb. (square-stemmed willow herb), in a laboratory experiment. Two seedlings of each plant species were planted in rhizotrons either in combination or in monoculture (intra- and interspecific competition). Interspecific competition strongly reduced total biomass of C. arvense whereas E. adnatum suffered most from intraspecific competition. Collembola neither affected the competitive relationship of the two plant species nor shoot and root biomass. Although Collembola did not affect total root biomass they influenced root morphology of both plant species. Roots grew longer and thinner and had more root tips in presence of Collembola. Root elongation is generally ascribed to the exploitation of nutrient rich patches in soil. We hypothesise that changes in root morphology in presence of Collembola are due to Collembola-mediated changes in nutrient availability and distribution.