Effects of resource availability and quality on the structure of the micro-food web of an arable soil across depth

Scharroba, Anika; Dibbern, Dörte; Hünninghaus, Maike; Krämer, Susanne; Moll, Julia; Butenschoen, Olaf; Bonkowski, Michael; Buscot, François; Kandeler, Ellen; Koller, Robert; Krüger, Dirk; Lueders, Tillmann; Scheu, Stefan; Rueß, Liliane

doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.03.002

Cited by 66 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Further, similar high incorporation of maize C into predator and decomposer taxa suggests that in arable fields the flow of C is not only channelled from meso-and macrofauna decomposers to predators but also via prey groups not included in our analyses, presumably nematodes. Supporting this assumption, herbivorous nematodes reached high densities at our study site in July 2010 (Scharroba et al 2012), and the studied predators were dominated by Gamasida and Collembola which have been shown to prey heavily on nematodes (Read et al 2006;Klarner et al 2013;Heidemann et al 2014).…”

Section: Incorporation Of Shoot Residue-and Root-derived Csupporting

confidence: 55%

“…Macrofauna species were identified using a dissecting microscope (Stemi 2000; Zeiss, Jena, Germany), mesofauna species by using a light microscope (Axioplan; Zeiss) allowing ×1000 magnification. Schaefer (2010) was used as standard key for the identification of macrofauna; Gamasida, Oribatida and Collembola were identified using Karg (1993), Weigmann (2006) and Hopkin (2007), respectively. In July 2010, samples of wheat and maize leaves were taken, dried at 60 °C for 72 h and milled to powder using a ball mill (MM 400; Retsch, Haan, Germany).…”

Section: Sampling and Analysis Of Stable Isotopesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…in P. superus and Muscidae larvae), indirectly via feeding on soil fungi [e.g. in Cecidomyiidae larvae, see also Scharroba et al (2012) and Kramer et al (2013)] or predation on soil arthropods (e.g. in Trechus sp., A. siculus and N. longicornis).…”

Section: Changes In Incorporation Of Root-derived Maize C With Timementioning

confidence: 99%

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Roots rather than shoot residues drive soil arthropod communities of arable fields

et al. 2015

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Soil food webs are driven by plant-derived carbon (C) entering the soil belowground as rhizodeposits or aboveground via leaf litter, with recent research pointing to a higher importance of the former for driving forest soil food webs. Using natural abundance stable isotopes of wheat (C3 plant) and maize (C4 plant), we followed and quantified the incorporation of shoot residue- and root-derived maize C into the soil animal food web of an arable field for 1 year, thereby disentangling the importance of shoot residue- versus root-derived resources for arable soil food webs. On average, shoot residue-derived resources only contributed less than 12% to soil arthropod body C, while incorporation of root-derived resources averaged 26% after 2 months of maize crop and increased to 32% after 1 year. However, incorporation of root-derived maize C did not consistently increase with time: rather, it increased, decreased or remained constant depending on species. Further, preference of shoot residue- or root-derived resources was also species-specific with about half the species incorporating mainly root-derived C, while only a few species preferentially incorporated shoot residue-derived C, and about 40% incorporated both shoot residue- as well as root-derived C. The results highlight the predominant importance of root-derived resources for arable soil food webs and suggest that shoot residues only form an additional resource of minor importance. Variation in the use of plant-derived C between soil arthropod species suggests that the flux of C through soil food webs of arable systems can only be disentangled by adopting a species-specific approach.

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Section: Incorporation Of Shoot Residue-and Root-derived Csupporting

confidence: 55%

Section: Sampling and Analysis Of Stable Isotopesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Roots rather than shoot residues drive soil arthropod communities of arable fields

et al. 2015

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“…The responses of the soil food webs to different tillage may depend on changes in the soil microenvironment, which provides feedback that regulates the structure of the food webs (Hedlund et al, 2004;Scharroba et al, 2012). The SEM analysis highlighted that soil food web structure was closely correlated with the WCS and NO 3 --N (Fig.…”

Section: Effects Of Tillage On the Structure Of Soil Food Websmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The abundance and trophic relationship of food web components, including microorganisms (bacteria and fungi), microbivores (protozoa and nematodes) and predators (nematodes) Scharroba et al, 2012), highly depend on soil management (Coleman, 2008). Changes in soil food webs can affect mineralization of nutrients and decomposition of organic matter (Wardle, 2002;Li et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation tillage positively influences the microflora and microfauna in the black soil of Northeast China

Zhang

Lü

et al. 2015

Soil and Tillage Research

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Stable isotopes of amino acids indicate that soil decomposer microarthropods predominantly feed on saprotrophic fungi

Pollierer

Scheu

2021

Ecosphere

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Soil microarthropods are essential for nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems as they are integral components of decomposer food webs. They channel carbon and nutrients from leaf litter and roots to higher trophic levels; however, knowledge on the relative importance of different channels and on their variation with forest type is lacking. Although the importance of root‐derived inputs for sustaining soil food webs is increasingly recognized, the pathways by which they are channeled to higher trophic levels are little understood. For the channeling, ectomycorrhizal fungi may play a significant role, but until now methods allowing to separate the contribution of ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi to the nutrition of soil animal communities are lacking. Using dual analysis of 15N and 13C in amino acids (AAs), we investigated trophic positions and basal resources of two major groups of soil microarthropods, Collembola and Oribatida, in beech and spruce forests in Germany. By applying a 13C fingerprinting approach and Bayesian mixing models, we separated in a first step the relative contribution of bacteria, fungi, and plants to the nutrition of soil microarthropods. As fungi were identified as the major food source, in a second step we attempted to separate the contribution of ectomycorrhizal vs. saprotrophic fungi. For the first time, we provide direct evidence that soil microarthropods mainly rely on saprotrophic fungi, whereas ectomycorrhizal fungi are consumed by only few species. While trophic niches of Collembola and Oribatida species generally varied little between beech and spruce forests, plant detritus as basal resource of soil microarthropods was somewhat more important in beech forests, whereas in spruce forests microbial resources dominated. Overall, the dual analysis of carbon and nitrogen in AAs provided insight into food web structure of soil microarthropods in unprecedented detail, and for the first time allowed to estimate the relative importance of mycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi for soil food web nutrition, a long‐standing riddle in soil food web ecology. The technique provides the perspective for a comprehensive understanding of the trophic structure and energy channeling in soil food webs.

show abstract

Effects of resource availability and quality on the structure of the micro-food web of an arable soil across depth

Cited by 66 publications

References 59 publications

Roots rather than shoot residues drive soil arthropod communities of arable fields

Roots rather than shoot residues drive soil arthropod communities of arable fields

Conservation tillage positively influences the microflora and microfauna in the black soil of Northeast China

Stable isotopes of amino acids indicate that soil decomposer microarthropods predominantly feed on saprotrophic fungi

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