Functional diversity of decomposer organisms in relation to primary production
Abstract The term `biodiversity' is claimed to lack connections to a serious scientific background. In this work, we approached the concept of biodiversity from a functional point of view by asking: “At what level of the ecological organization (species, trophic species/feeding guilds, trophic levels etc.) should reduction in biodiversity matter to bring about visible changes in ecosystem performance?” We investigate the concepts of `functional diversity' and `ecosystem performance' in relation to feeding habits (such as fungivory, detritivory etc.) of soil fauna and plant growth. After analysing the results of a number of microcosm studies, we came into the following conclusions: (i) troph…
Root-induced decomposer growth and plant N uptake are not positively associated among a set of grassland plants
Abstract It is known that plant species can induce development of different soil decomposer communities and that they differ in their influence on organic matter decomposition and N mineralization in soil. However, no study has so far assessed whether these two observations are related to each other. Based on the hypothesis that root-induced growth of soil decomposers leads to accelerated decomposition of SOM and increased plant N availability in soil, we predicted that (1) among a set of grassland plants the abundance of soil decomposers in the plant rhizosphere is positively associated with plant N uptake from soil organic matter. To test this, we established grassland microcosms consisti…
Effects of microbivore species composition and basal resource enrichment on trophic-level biomasses in an experimental microbial-based soil food web.
Previous theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that species composition within trophic levels may profoundly affect the response of trophic-level biomasses to enhanced basal resources. To test whether species composition of microbivorous nematodes has such an effect in microbial-based soil food webs, I created three microcosm food webs, consisting of bacteria, fungi, bacterial-feeding nematodes (Acrobeloides tricornus, Caenorhabditis elegans), fungal-feeding nematodes (Aphelenchus avenae, Aphelenchoides sp.) and a predatory nematode (Prionchulus punctatus). The food webs differed in species composition at the second trophic level: food web A included A. tricornus and Aph. avenae, food…
No evidence of trophic cascades in an experimental microbial-based soil food web
Trophic-dynamic theories predict the biomass and productivity of trophic levels to be partially top-down regulated in food webs, and that the top-down regulation will manifest itself as cascading trophic interactions. We tested the two principal predictions deduced from these theories: trophic cascades of (1) biomass regulation and (2) productivity regulation occur in food webs. We created three food webs with either one, two, or three trophic levels in soil microcosms containing a sterilized mixture of leaf litter and humus. Twenty species of bacteria and fungi formed the first trophic level, a bacterivorous nematode (Caenorhabditis elegans) and a fungivorous nematode (Aphelenchoides sp.) …
Defoliation-induced changes in carbon allocation and root soluble carbon concentration in field-grown Lolium perenne plants: do they affect carbon availability, microbes and animal trophic groups in soil?
Summary 1It is hypothesized that defoliation-induced changes in plant carbon allocation and root soluble C concentration modify rhizosphere C availability and, further, the abundance and activity of soil microbes and their grazers. To test this hypothesis, field-grown Lolium perenne swards were defoliated twice during their second growing season at two nitrogen availabilities (added N or no added N). Plant, soil and microbial attributes were measured 2 and 4 days after the last defoliation, and nematode abundance was measured 6 days after the last defoliation. 2Defoliation decreased shoot production in plots where N was added, but had no significant effect in plots where N was not added. Ro…
Defoliation effects on Plantago lanceolata resource allocation and soil decomposers in relation to AM symbiosis and fertilization
Plants can mediate interactions between aboveground herbivores and belowground decomposers as both groups depend on plant-provided organic carbon. Most vascular plants also form symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which compete for plant carbon too. Our aim was to reveal how defoliation (trimming of plant leaves twice to 6 cm above the soil surface) and mycorrhizal infection (inoculation of the fungus Glomus claroideum BEG31), in nutrient poor and fertilized conditions, affect plant growth and resource allocation. We also tested how these effects can influence the abundance of microbial-feeding animals and nitrogen availability in the soil. We established a 12-wk microcosm st…
Defoliation and patchy nutrient return drive grazing effects on plant and soil properties in a dairy cow pasture
Large herbivores can influence plant and soil properties in grassland ecosystems, but especially for belowground biota and processes, the mechanisms that explain these effects are not fully understood. Here, we examine the capability of three grazing mechanisms-plant defoliation, dung and urine return, and physical presence of animals (causing trampling and excreta return in patches)-to explain grazing effects in Phleum pratense-Festuca pratensis dairy cow pasture in Finland. Comparison of control plots and plots grazed by cows showed that grazing maintained original plant-community structure, decreased shoot mass and root N and P concentrations, increased shoot N and P concentrations, and …
Responses of microbial-feeding nematodes to organic matter distribution and predation in experimental soil habitat
Abstract Soils are spatially heterogeneous environments, a condition which is likely to affect the structure and function of soil food webs. To study the influence of soil organic matter distribution on decomposer food webs, we established microcosms that contained either: (1) large patches of initially sterile humus-litter mixture placed within sterile sand matrix (creating a large-patch habitat; LPH); or (2) blend of sand and humus-litter mixture (creating a small-patch habitat; SPH). Ten species of bacteria and ten species of fungi, and two bacterial-feeding ( Acrobeloides tricornis , Caenorhabditis elegans ) and two fungal-feeding ( Aphelenchus avenae , Aphelenchoides sp.) nematodes wer…
Does plant growth phase determine the response of plants and soil organisms to defoliation?
Abstract To test a hypothesis that the effects of defoliation on plant ecophysiology and soil organisms depend on the timing of defoliation within a growing season, we established a greenhouse experiment using replicated grassland microcosms. Each microcosms was composed of three plant species, Trifolium repens , Plantago lanceolata and Phleum pratense , growing in grassland soil with a diverse soil community. The experiment consisted of two treatment factors—defoliation and plant growth phase (PGP)—in a fully factorial design. Defoliation had two categories, i.e. no trimming or trimming a total of four times at 2 week intervals. The PGP treatment had four categories, i.e. 1, 3, 7 or 13 wee…
Plant removal disturbance and replant mitigation effects on the abundance and diversity of low-arctic soil biota
Abstract Due to the dependence of soil organisms on plant derived carbon, disturbances in plant cover are thought to be detrimental for the persistence of soil biota. In this work, we studied the disturbance effects of plant removal and soil mixing and the mitigation effects of replanting on soil biota in a low-arctic meadow ecosystem. We set up altogether six replicate blocks, each including three randomized treatment plots, at two distinct fells at Kilpisjarvi, northern Finland. Vegetation was removed in two thirds of the plots: one third was then kept barren (the plant-removal treatment), while the other third was replanted with a local herb Solidago virgaurea. The remaining plots of int…
Belowground responses by AM fungi and animal trophic groups to repeated defoliation in an experimental grassland community
Abstract We tested a hypothesis that the effects of defoliation on plants and soil organisms vary with the number of successive defoliations. We established a 23-week greenhouse experiment using replicated grassland microcosms that were composed of three plant species, Trifolium repens , Plantago lanceolata and Phleum pratense , growing together in grassland soil with a diverse soil community. The experiment consisted of two treatment factors-defoliation and harvest time-in a fully factorial design. The defoliation treatment had two levels, i.e. no trimming and trimming of plants every 2 weeks, and the harvest time five levels, i.e. harvests after 1–3, 5 and 7 trimmings. Shoot production (t…
Soil feedback does not explain mowing effects on vegetation structure in a semi-natural grassland
Due to its ability to create aboveground conditions that favour plant diversity, mowing is often used to preserve the high conservation value of semi-natural species-rich grasslands. However, mowing can also affect belowground conditions. By decreasing plant carbon supply to soil, mowing can suppress the activity of soil decomposers, diminish plant nutrient availability and thus create a feedback on plant growth. In this study, we first documented the effects of three-year mowing on plant community structure in a species-rich grassland. We found that mowing decreased the total areal cover of woody plants and increased the total cover of leguminous forbs. At the species level, mowing further…
Long-term soil feedback on plant N allocation in defoliated grassland miniecosystems
Abstract Defoliation of plants is known to have effects on soil organisms and nutrient availability in grassland communities, but few studies have examined whether changes in soil attributes can further feed back to plant growth and plant nutrient content. To examine defoliation-induced soil feedbacks, we established replicated miniecosystems with a grass Phleum pratense , defoliated half of the systems, collected soil from both defoliated and non-defoliated systems and planted new seedlings into each soil. The two soils did not differ in promoting shoot and root growth. However, seedlings that grew in the soil collected from defoliated systems had higher shoot N content, allocated relative…
Defoliation effects on plant and soil properties in an experimental low arctic grassland community – the role of plant community structure
In Northern Fennoscandia, sub-arctic and arctic grasslands are commonly grazed by the semi-domesticated reindeer. Reindeer grazing is known to affect plant production and belowground processes, such as nutrient mineralization in these grasslands, but little is known of the role of plant community structure in the response of plant and soil properties to the defoliation of plants. Using soil and seeds from a low arctic meadow, we established a 23-week greenhouse experiment to test whether communities of different plant species richness (one, two or four species) and composition (three different replicated compositions within each richness level) respond to defoliation in a different way. We …
Soil feedback on plant growth in a sub-arctic grassland as a result of repeated defoliation
In the long term, defoliation of plants can be hypothesized to decrease plant carbon supply to soil decomposers and thus decrease decomposer abundance and nutrient mineralization in the soil. To test whether defoliation creates changes in soil that can feedback to plant growth, we collected soil from sub-arctic grassland plots that had been either defoliated or non-defoliated for three years and followed the growth of different plant species combinations in these soils in greenhouse conditions. Plant N acquisition and plant growth were lower in the soil collected from the defoliated field plots than in the soil collected from the non-defoliated plots. This response did not depend on the spe…
Biostimulation proved to be the most efficient method in the comparison of in situ soil remediation treatments after a simulated oil spill accident
The use of in situ techniques in soil remediation is still rare in Finland and most other European countries due to the uncertainty of the effectiveness of the techniques especially in cold regions and also due to their potential side effects on the environment. In this study, we compared the biostimulation, chemical oxidation, and natural attenuation treatments in natural conditions and pilot scale during a 16-month experiment. A real fuel spill accident was used as a model for experiment setup and soil contamination. We found that biostimulation significantly decreased the contaminant leachate into the water, including also the non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL). The total NAPL leachate was …
Do interactions with soil organisms mediate grass responses to defoliation?
Abstract Defoliation-induced changes in grass growth and C allocation are known to affect soil organisms, but how much these effects in turn mediate grass responses to defoliation is not fully understood. Here, we present results from a microcosm study that assessed the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and soil decomposers in the response of a common forage grass, Phleum pratense L., to defoliation at two nutrient availabilities (added inorganic nutrients or no added nutrients). We measured the growth and C and N allocations of P. pratense plants as well as the abundance of soil organisms in the plant rhizosphere 5 and 19 d after defoliation. To examine whether defoliation affected…
Biological Diversity and Function in Soils D. R. Bardgett, M. B. Usher, D. W. Hopkins . 2005. Biological Diversity and Function in Soils. Cambridge University Press.xiv+. 411 17 × 24.5 cm, softcover, US$65.00. ISBN: 0-521-60987-9.
Defoliation and the availability of currently assimilated carbon in the Phleum pratense rhizosphere
Abstract It has been hypothesised that defoliation and aboveground herbivory increase the availability of currently assimilated C to organisms living in plant rhizospheres. We established a growth chamber experiment consisting of Phleum pratense individuals growing in sand culture to examine the short- and long-term effects of defoliation on the availability of current C assimilates in the P. pratense rhizosphere. Using 14CO2 pulse labelling, we followed partitioning of currently assimilated C between shoots, roots and rhizosphere-derived organic matter (RDOM). The experiment constituted of two treatments, defoliation history and recent defoliation, in a fully factorial design. Defoliation …
Role of Soil Organisms in the Maintenance of Species-Rich Seminatural Grasslands through Mowing
To preserve species-rich grasslands, management practices such as mowing are often required. Mowing is known to promote aboveground conditions that help to maintain plant species richness, but whether belowground effects are important as well is not known. We hypothesized that if mowing decreases belowground carbon transfer by reducing root mass, this will reduce the abundance and activity of soil decomposers and lead to diminished nutrient availability in soil. In grasslands, this would provide a means to mitigate the negative effects of nitrogen enrichment on plant species richness. We established experimental plots on grassland with one-third of plots growing untouched, one-third mowed o…
Interplay of omnivory, energy channels and C availability in a microbial-based soil food web
To study the effects of omnivory on the structure and function of soil food webs and on the control of trophic-level biomasses in soil, two food webs were established in microcosms. The first one contained fungi, bacteria, a fungivorous nematode (Aphelenchoides saprophilus) and a bacterivorous nematode (Caenorhabditis elegans), and the second one fungi, bacteria, the fungivore and an omnivorous nematode (Mesodiplogaster sp.) feeding on both bacteria and the fungivore. Half of the replicates of each food web received additional glucose. The microcosms were sampled destructively at 5, 9, 13 and 19 weeks to estimate the biomass of microbes and nematodes and the soil NH4+-N concentration. The e…