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− Nutrient acquisition by plants occurs in an environment characterized by complex interactions between roots, micro-organisms and animals, termed the rhizosphere. Competition for mineral elements in this sphere is high. The rhizosphere processes are driven by photosynthetically fixed carbon released by roots either directly to mycorrhizal fungal symbionts or as exudates fuelling a wider spectrum of organisms, mainly bacteria. In particular, the role of the soil fauna interacting with rhizosphere micro-organisms and plant roots has so far found little attention. We present evidence that the interaction between plant roots, root exudates and micro-organisms can only be understood in relation to soil faunal activity, indicating that the soil fauna has an important function in regulating rhizosphere microbial processes and therefore significantly affects plant growth. © 2000 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS rhizosphere / microbial activity / soil biota / food web interactions / plant growth

Nutrient‐poor grassland on a silty clay loam overlying calcareous debris was exposed to elevated CO2 for six growing seasons. The CO2 exchange and productivity were persistently increased throughout the experiment, suggesting increases in soil C inputs. At the same time, elevated CO2 lead to increased soil moisture due to reduced evapotransporation. Measurements related to soil microflora did not indicate increased soil C fluxes under elevated CO2. Microbial biomass, soil basal respiration, and the metabolic quotient for CO2 (qCO2) were not altered significantly. PLFA analysis indicated no significant shift in the ratio of fungi to bacteria. 0.5 m KCl extractable organic C and N, indicators of changed DOC and DON concentrations, also remained unaltered. Microbial grazer populations (protozoa, bacterivorous and fungivorous nematodes, acari and collembola) and root feeding nematodes were not affected by elevated CO2. However, total nematode numbers averaged slightly lower under elevated CO2 (−16%, ns) and nematode mass was significantly reduced (−43%, P = 0.06). This reduction reflected a reduction in large‐diameter nematodes classified as omnivorous and predacious. Elevated CO2 resulted in a shift towards smaller aggregate sizes at both micro‐ and macro‐aggregate scales; this was caused by higher soil moisture under elevated CO2. Reduced aggregate sizes result in reduced pore neck diameters. Locomotion of large‐diameter nematodes depends on the presence of large enough pores; the reduction in aggregate sizes under elevated CO2 may therefore account for the decrease in large nematodes. These animals are relatively high up the soil food web; this decline could therefore trigger top‐down effects on the soil food web. The CO2 enrichment also affected the nitrogen cycle. The N stocks in living plants and surface litter increased at elevated CO2, but N in soil organic matter and microbes remained unaltered. Nitrogen mineralization increased markedly, but microbial N did not differ between CO2 treatments, indicating that net N immobilization rates were unaltered. In summary, this study did not provide evidence that soils and soil microbial communities are affected by increased soil C inputs under elevated CO2. On the contrary, available data (13C tracer data, minirhizotron observations, root ingrowth cores) suggests that soil C inputs did not increase substantially. However, we provide first evidence that elevated CO2 can reduce soil aggregation at the scale from µm to mm scale, and that this can affect soil microfaunal populations.

S. 2004. Effects of plant diversity on Collembola in an experimental grassland ecosystem. Á/ Oikos 106: 51 Á/60.The response of species numbers and density of Collembola to manipulation of plant species richness (1, 2, 4, 8, 32 species) and number of plant functional groups (grasses, legumes and non-legume herbs) was studied in an experimental grassland at the Swiss BIODEPTH site (Lupsingen, Switzerland) in October 1997. Plant species richness or number of plant functional groups did not affect total diversity of Collembola, however, the number of Collembola species increased in the presence of legumes and the grass Trisetum flavescens. The abundance of Protaphorura armata increased but that of Hypogastruridae/Neanuridae significantly decreased with increasing number of plant functional groups. Other groups including the herbivorous Symphypleona did not respond to plant species richness and plant functional groups. Possibly, Hypogastruridae/Neanuridae species are weak competitors declining in density if the density of other Collembola groups increase. In general, the effect of the number of plant functional groups on the densities of collembolan taxa was stronger than that of plant species richness. Changes in Collembola density and diversity in part was likely caused by increased soil microbial and fine root biomass in treatments with higher plant functional group diversity. The presence of legumes resulted in an increase in the densities of total Collembola, Symphypleona/Neelipleona and Isotomidae indicating that they benefited from the high litter quality and the increased microbial biomass in the rhizosphere of legumes. The results suggest that microbivorous soil invertebrates are controlled by food quality rather than quantity. Furthermore, they indicate that presence of certain plant species and functional groups may be more important for collembolan community structure than the diversity of plant species and functional groups per se.

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