Reduced greenhouse gas mitigation potential of no-tillage soils through earthworm activity

Lubbers, Ingrid M.; Groenigen, Kees Jan van; Brussaard, L.; Groenigen, Jan Willem van

doi:10.1038/srep13787

Cited by 32 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In their study, earthworms enhanced CO 2 production, whereas Collembola and bacterivorous nematodes increased leaching of dissolved organic carbon. Mechanistic experiments confirm that earthworms have a detrimental effect on the greenhouse gas balance under nitrogen-rich conditions (Lubbers et al, 2013) and under no-till management (Lubbers et al, 2015). Inclusion of group-specific diversity of mesofauna in models of global-scale decomposition rates increased explained variance from 70 to 77 % over abiotic factors alone (Wall et al, 2008).…”

Section: Implications For Modellingmentioning

confidence: 71%

Soil fauna: key to new carbon models

Filser

Faber

Tiunov

et al. 2016

SOIL

Self Cite

179

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Soil organic matter (SOM) is key to maintaining soil fertility, mitigating climate change, combatting land degradation, and conserving above-and below-ground biodiversity and associated soil processes and ecosystem services. In order to derive management options for maintaining these essential services provided by soils, policy makers depend on robust, predictive models identifying key drivers of SOM dynamics. Existing SOM models and suggested guidelines for future SOM modelling are defined mostly in terms of plant residue quality and input and microbial decomposition, overlooking the significant regulation provided by soil fauna. The fauna controls almost any aspect of organic matter turnover, foremost by regulating the activity and functional composition of soil microorganisms and their physical-chemical connectivity with soil organic matter. We demonstrate a very strong impact of soil animals on carbon turnover, increasing or decreasing it by several dozen percent, sometimes even turning C sinks into C sources or vice versa. This is demonstrated not only for earthworms and other larger invertebrates but also for smaller fauna such as Collembola. We suggest that inclusion of soil animal activities (plant residue consumption and bioturbation altering the formation, depth, hydraulic properties and physical heterogeneity of soils) can fundamentally affect the predictive outcome of SOM models. Understanding direct and indirect impacts of soil fauna on nutrient availability, carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions and plant growth is key to the understanding of SOM dynamics in the context of global carbon cycling models. We argue that explicit consideration of soil fauna is essential to make realistic modelling predictions on SOM dynamics and to detect expected non-linear responses of SOM dynamics to global change. WePublished by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 566 J. Filser et al.: Soil fauna: key to new carbon models present a decision framework, to be further developed through the activities of KEYSOM, a European COST Action, for when mechanistic SOM models include soil fauna. The research activities of KEYSOM, such as field experiments and literature reviews, together with dialogue between empiricists and modellers, will inform how this is to be done.

show abstract

Section: Implications For Modellingmentioning

confidence: 71%

Soil fauna: key to new carbon models

Filser

Faber

Tiunov

et al. 2016

SOIL

Self Cite

179

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition, recent studies suggest that the effect of no-till on yield is positive only under certain conditions, and evidence for a general positive effect is equivocal (Pittelkow et al 2015). Similarly, the positive effects of no-till on carbon sequestration have been questioned (Powlson et al 2014, Ugarte et al 2014, Lubbers et al 2015.…”

Section: No-till-effects On Soil Quality Carbon Sequestration and Wmentioning

confidence: 99%

How spatial scale shapes the generation and management of multiple ecosystem services

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. The spatial extent of ecological processes has consequences for the generation of ecosystem services related to them. However, management often fails to consider issues of scale when targeting ecological processes underpinning ecosystem services generation. Here, we present a framework for conceptualizing how the amount and spatial scale (here discussed in terms of extent) of management interventions alter interactions among multiple ecosystem services. First, we identify four types of responses of ecosystem service generation: linear, exponential, saturating, and sigmoid, and how these are related to the amount of management intervention at a particular spatial scale. Second, using examples from multiple ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes, we examine how the shape of these relationships can vary with the spatial scale at which the management interventions are implemented. Third, we examine the resulting scale-dependent consequences for trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services as a consequence of interventions. Finally, to inform guidelines for management of multiple ecosystem services in real landscapes, we end with a discussion linking the theoretical relationships with how landscape configurations and placement of interventions can alter the scale at which synergies and trade-offs among services occur.

show abstract

“…Agroecosystems also have the best potential for C storage in the soil by restoring soil organic C that was previously lost due to agricultural practices (Lal, 2004;Paustian, Cole, Sauerbeck, & Sampson, 1998;Smith, 2016;Stockmann et al, 2013). Yet, increasing soil C stocks can be negated by elevated soil-derived emissions of the potent GHG N 2 O (Lubbers, Groenigen, Brussaard, & Groenigen, 2015;Powlson et al, 2014;Powlson, Whitmore, & Goulding, 2011). Global change models that underpin predictions of future climate scenarios still lack the potentially intricate and non-linear interactions between soil fauna and microbes regulating soil biogeochemical cycles (Grandy, Wieder, Wickings, & Kyker-Snowman, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil fauna diversity increases CO₂ but suppresses N₂O emissions from soil

Lubbers

Berg

Deyn

et al. 2019

Global Change Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Soil faunal activity can be a major control of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from soil. Effects of single faunal species, genera or families have been investigated, but it is unknown how soil fauna diversity may influence emissions of both carbon dioxide (CO2, end product of decomposition of organic matter) and nitrous oxide (N2O, an intermediate product of N transformation processes, in particular denitrification). Here, we studied how CO2 and N2O emissions are affected by species and species mixtures of up to eight species of detritivorous/fungivorous soil fauna from four different taxonomic groups (earthworms, potworms, mites, springtails) using a microcosm set‐up. We found that higher species richness and increased functional dissimilarity of species mixtures led to increased faunal‐induced CO2 emission (up to 10%), but decreased N2O emission (up to 62%). Large ecosystem engineers such as earthworms were key drivers of both CO2 and N2O emissions. Interestingly, increased biodiversity of other soil fauna in the presence of earthworms decreased faunal‐induced N2O emission despite enhanced C cycling. We conclude that higher soil fauna functional diversity enhanced the intensity of belowground processes, leading to more complete litter decomposition and increased CO2 emission, but concurrently also resulting in more complete denitrification and reduced N2O emission. Our results suggest that increased soil fauna species diversity has the potential to mitigate emissions of N2O from soil ecosystems. Given the loss of soil biodiversity in managed soils, our findings call for adoption of management practices that enhance soil biodiversity and stimulate a functionally diverse faunal community to reduce N2O emissions from managed soils.

show abstract

Reduced greenhouse gas mitigation potential of no-tillage soils through earthworm activity

Cited by 32 publications

References 44 publications

Soil fauna: key to new carbon models

Soil fauna: key to new carbon models

How spatial scale shapes the generation and management of multiple ecosystem services

Soil fauna diversity increases CO₂ but suppresses N₂O emissions from soil

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Reduced greenhouse gas mitigation potential of no-tillage soils through earthworm activity

Cited by 32 publications

References 44 publications

Soil fauna: key to new carbon models

Soil fauna: key to new carbon models

How spatial scale shapes the generation and management of multiple ecosystem services

Soil fauna diversity increases CO2 but suppresses N2O emissions from soil

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Soil fauna diversity increases CO₂ but suppresses N₂O emissions from soil