Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Functional shifts of grassland soil communities in response to soil warming
AU - Briones, Maria Jesus Inglesias
AU - Ostle, Nick
AU - McNamara, Niall P.
AU - Poskitt, Jan
PY - 2009/2
Y1 - 2009/2
N2 - organisms critical to the global carbon cycle. Temperate grassland ecosystems, contain large, diverse and active soil meso- and macrofauna decomposer communities. Understanding the effects of climate change on their ecology offers a first step towards meaningful predictions of changes in soil organic carbonmineralisation.We examined the effects of soil warming on the abundance, diversity and ecology of temperate grassland soil fauna functional groups, ecosystem net CO2 flux and respiration and plant above- and below-ground productivity in a 2-year plant–soil mesocosm experiment. Low voltage heating cable mounted on a framework of stainless steel mesh provided a constant 3.5 C difference between control and warmed mesocosm soils.Results showed that this temperature increment had little effect on soil respiration and above-ground plant biomass. There was, however, a significant effect on the soil fauna due to warmer conditions and increased root growth, with significant decreases in the numbers in the large oligochaete groups and Prostigmata mites and the re-distribution of enchytraeids to deeper soil layers. Functional groupsexhibited individualistic responses to soil warming, with the total disappearance of epigeic species in the case of the ecosystem engineers and an increased diversity of fungivorous mites that, together, produced significant changes in the composition and trophic structure of the fauna community.The observed switch towards a fungal driven food web has important implications for the fate of soil organic carbon in temperate ecosystems subjected to sustained warming. Accordingly, soil biology needs to be properly incorporated in C models to make better predictions of the fate of SOC under warmer scenarios.
AB - organisms critical to the global carbon cycle. Temperate grassland ecosystems, contain large, diverse and active soil meso- and macrofauna decomposer communities. Understanding the effects of climate change on their ecology offers a first step towards meaningful predictions of changes in soil organic carbonmineralisation.We examined the effects of soil warming on the abundance, diversity and ecology of temperate grassland soil fauna functional groups, ecosystem net CO2 flux and respiration and plant above- and below-ground productivity in a 2-year plant–soil mesocosm experiment. Low voltage heating cable mounted on a framework of stainless steel mesh provided a constant 3.5 C difference between control and warmed mesocosm soils.Results showed that this temperature increment had little effect on soil respiration and above-ground plant biomass. There was, however, a significant effect on the soil fauna due to warmer conditions and increased root growth, with significant decreases in the numbers in the large oligochaete groups and Prostigmata mites and the re-distribution of enchytraeids to deeper soil layers. Functional groupsexhibited individualistic responses to soil warming, with the total disappearance of epigeic species in the case of the ecosystem engineers and an increased diversity of fungivorous mites that, together, produced significant changes in the composition and trophic structure of the fauna community.The observed switch towards a fungal driven food web has important implications for the fate of soil organic carbon in temperate ecosystems subjected to sustained warming. Accordingly, soil biology needs to be properly incorporated in C models to make better predictions of the fate of SOC under warmer scenarios.
KW - Community structure
KW - SOC
KW - Soil invertebrates
KW - SOM
KW - Trophic food webs
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=58149503764&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.soilbio.2008.11.003
DO - 10.1016/j.soilbio.2008.11.003
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:58149503764
VL - 41
SP - 315
EP - 322
JO - Soil Biology and Biochemistry
JF - Soil Biology and Biochemistry
SN - 0038-0717
IS - 2
M1 - 41
ER -