Additive and interactive effects of functionally dissimilar soil organisms on a grassland plant community |
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| Authors: | Natalia Ladygina Frederic Henry Robert Koller Alia Rodriguez Ilja Sonnemann Susanne Wurst |
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| Institution: | a Department of Ecology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, 223 62 Lund, Swedenb Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Copenhagen University, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmarkc Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Strasse 8, 07745 Jena, Germanyd UMR INRA-INPL “Agronomie et Environnement”, ENSAIA, BP 172, 54505 Vandoeuvre les Nancy, Francee School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, SurreyTW20 OEX, UKf Department of Soil Microbiology, CSIC, Profesor Albareda 1, 18008 Granada, Spaing Department of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Niemenkatu 73, 15140 Lahti, Finlandh Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, University of Reading, P.O. Box 237, Earley Gate, Reading RG6 6AR, UKi Center for Terrestrial Ecology, P.O. Box 40, 6666 ZG Heteren, The Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | The productivity and diversity of plant communities are affected by soil organisms such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), root herbivores and decomposers. However, it is unknown how interactions between such functionally dissimilar soil organisms affect plant communities and whether the combined effects are additive or interactive. In a greenhouse experiment we investigated the individual and combined effects of AMF (five Glomus species), root herbivores (wireworms and nematodes) and decomposers (collembolans and enchytraeids) on the productivity and nutrient content of a model grassland plant community as well as on soil microbial biomass and community structure. The effects of the soil organisms on productivity (total plant biomass), total root biomass, grass and forb biomass, and nutrient uptake of the plant community were additive. AMF decreased, decomposers increased and root herbivores had no effect on productivity, but in combination the additive effects canceled each other out. AMF reduced total root biomass by 18%, but decomposers increased it by 25%, leading to no net effect on total root biomass in the combined treatments. Total shoot biomass was reduced by 14% by root herbivores and affected by an interaction between AMF and decomposers where decomposers had a positive impact on shoot growth only in presence of AMF. AMF increased the shoot biomass of forbs, but reduced the shoot biomass of grasses, while root herbivores only reduced the shoot biomass of grasses. Interactive effects of the soil organisms were detected on the shoot biomasses of Lotus corniculatus, Plantago lanceolata, and Agrostis capillaris. The C/N ratio of the plant community was affected by AMF.In soil, AMF promoted abundances of bacterial, actinomycete, saprophytic and AMF fatty acid markers. Decomposers alone decreased bacterial and actinomycete fatty acids abundances but when decomposers were interacting with herbivores those abundances were increased. Our results suggests that at higher resolutions, i.e. on the levels of individual plant species and the microbial community, interactive effects are common but do not affect the overall productivity and nutrient uptake of a grassland plant community, which is mainly affected by additive effects of functionally dissimilar soil organisms. |
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| Keywords: | AMF Wireworms Nematodes Collembolans Plant biomass Functional groups C/N content Microbial community PLFA |
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