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.; Hal, R. van; Harvey, J.A.; Hedlund, K.; Maraun, M.; Mikola, J.; Mladenov, A.G.; Robin, C.; Ruiter, P.C. de; Scheu, S.; Setala, H.; Smilauer, P.; Putten, W.H. van der
(2010) Ecology, volume 91, issue 10, pp. 3027 - 3036
(Article)
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
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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.
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Keywords: biodiversity, ecosystem function, food web composition, food web model, Lotus corniculatus, macrofauna, mesofauna, microfauna, Plantago lanceolata, soil biota
ISSN: 0012-9658
Publisher: Ecological Society of America
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