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Divergent composition but similar function of soil food webs of individual plants: plant species and community effects

Bezemer, T. M. ; Fountain, M. T. ; Barea, J. M. ; Christensen, S. ; Dekker, S. C. ; Duyts, H. ; van Hal, R. ; Harvey, J. A. ; Hedlund, Katarina LU orcid and Maraun, M. , et al. (2010) In Ecology 91(10). p.3027-3036
Abstract
Soils are extremely rich in biodiversity, and soil organisms play pivotal roles in supporting terrestrial life, but the role that individual plants and plant communities play in influencing the diversity and functioning of soil food webs remains highly debated. Plants, as primary producers and providers of resources to the soil food web, are of vital importance for the composition, structure, and functioning of soil communities. However, whether natural soil food webs that are completely open to immigration and emigration differ underneath individual plants remains unknown. In a biodiversity restoration experiment we first compared the soil nematode communities of 228 individual plants belonging to eight herbaceous species. We included... (More)
Soils are extremely rich in biodiversity, and soil organisms play pivotal roles in supporting terrestrial life, but the role that individual plants and plant communities play in influencing the diversity and functioning of soil food webs remains highly debated. Plants, as primary producers and providers of resources to the soil food web, are of vital importance for the composition, structure, and functioning of soil communities. However, whether natural soil food webs that are completely open to immigration and emigration differ underneath individual plants remains unknown. In a biodiversity restoration experiment we first compared the soil nematode communities of 228 individual plants belonging to eight herbaceous species. We included grass, leguminous, and non-leguminous species. Each individual plant grew intermingled with other species, but all plant species had a different nematode community. Moreover, nematode communities were more similar when plant individuals were growing in the same as compared to different plant communities, and these effects were most apparent for the groups of bacterivorous, carnivorous, and omnivorous nematodes. Subsequently, we analyzed the composition, structure, and functioning of the complete soil food webs of 58 individual plants, belonging to two of the plant species, Lotus corniculatus (Fabaceae) and Plantago lanceolata (Plantaginaceae). We isolated and identified more than 150 taxa/groups of soil organisms. The soil community composition and structure of the entire food webs were influenced both by the species identity of the plant individual and the surrounding plant community. Unexpectedly, plant identity had the strongest effects on decomposing soil organisms, widely believed to be generalist feeders. In contrast, quantitative food web modeling showed that the composition of the plant community influenced nitrogen mineralization under individual plants, but that plant species identity did not affect nitrogen or carbon mineralization or food web stability. Hence, the composition and structure of entire soil food webs vary at the scale of individual plants and are strongly influenced by the species identity of the plant. However, the ecosystem functions these food webs provide are determined by the identity of the entire plant community. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Plantago, microfauna, ecosystem function, biodiversity, food web composition, food web model, Lotus corniculatus, mesofauna, macrofauna, lanceolata, soil biota
in
Ecology
volume
91
issue
10
pages
3027 - 3036
publisher
Ecological Society of America
external identifiers
  • wos:000282654700021
  • scopus:77957744523
ISSN
0012-9658
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
1e9c3027-23c8-4116-a8d4-cc5fd5a8fe7d (old id 1726121)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:54:16
date last changed
2022-08-07 07:50:10
@article{1e9c3027-23c8-4116-a8d4-cc5fd5a8fe7d,
  abstract     = {{Soils are extremely rich in biodiversity, and soil organisms play pivotal roles in supporting terrestrial life, but the role that individual plants and plant communities play in influencing the diversity and functioning of soil food webs remains highly debated. Plants, as primary producers and providers of resources to the soil food web, are of vital importance for the composition, structure, and functioning of soil communities. However, whether natural soil food webs that are completely open to immigration and emigration differ underneath individual plants remains unknown. In a biodiversity restoration experiment we first compared the soil nematode communities of 228 individual plants belonging to eight herbaceous species. We included grass, leguminous, and non-leguminous species. Each individual plant grew intermingled with other species, but all plant species had a different nematode community. Moreover, nematode communities were more similar when plant individuals were growing in the same as compared to different plant communities, and these effects were most apparent for the groups of bacterivorous, carnivorous, and omnivorous nematodes. Subsequently, we analyzed the composition, structure, and functioning of the complete soil food webs of 58 individual plants, belonging to two of the plant species, Lotus corniculatus (Fabaceae) and Plantago lanceolata (Plantaginaceae). We isolated and identified more than 150 taxa/groups of soil organisms. The soil community composition and structure of the entire food webs were influenced both by the species identity of the plant individual and the surrounding plant community. Unexpectedly, plant identity had the strongest effects on decomposing soil organisms, widely believed to be generalist feeders. In contrast, quantitative food web modeling showed that the composition of the plant community influenced nitrogen mineralization under individual plants, but that plant species identity did not affect nitrogen or carbon mineralization or food web stability. Hence, the composition and structure of entire soil food webs vary at the scale of individual plants and are strongly influenced by the species identity of the plant. However, the ecosystem functions these food webs provide are determined by the identity of the entire plant community.}},
  author       = {{Bezemer, T. M. and Fountain, M. T. and Barea, J. M. and Christensen, S. and Dekker, S. C. and Duyts, H. and van Hal, R. and Harvey, J. A. and Hedlund, Katarina and Maraun, M. and Mikola, J. and Mladenov, A. G. and Robin, C. and de Ruiter, P. C. and Scheu, S. and Setala, H. and Smilauer, P. and van der Putten, W. H.}},
  issn         = {{0012-9658}},
  keywords     = {{Plantago; microfauna; ecosystem function; biodiversity; food web composition; food web model; Lotus corniculatus; mesofauna; macrofauna; lanceolata; soil biota}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{10}},
  pages        = {{3027--3036}},
  publisher    = {{Ecological Society of America}},
  series       = {{Ecology}},
  title        = {{Divergent composition but similar function of soil food webs of individual plants: plant species and community effects}},
  volume       = {{91}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}