Small but active – pool size does not matter for carbon incorporation in below‐ground food webs

Pausch, Johanna; Krämer, Susanne; Scharroba, Anika; Scheunemann, Nicole; Butenschoen, Olaf; Kandeler, Ellen; Marhan, Sven; Riederer, Michael; Scheu, Stefan; Kuzyakov, Yakov; Rueß, Liliane

doi:10.1111/1365-2435.12512

Cited by 99 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Small pore space may hinder large nematodes by limiting movement and segregating microbial prey in inaccessible pores (Elliott, Anderson, Coleman, & Cole, 1980;Hassink, Bouwman, Zwart, Bloem, et al, 1993). In fact, in loamy and clayey soils the shortage of pores over 30 μm in diameter limits the abundance of large nematodes (Hassink, Bouwmain, Zwart, & Brussaard, 1993;Hassink, Bouwman, Zwart, Bloem, et al, 1993;Niklaus et al, 2003), and texture is known to determine the occurrence of certain nematode species (Robertson & Freckman, 1995). Our results also imply that neither length nor diameter alone is a robust proxy for nematode mass, as they may respond differently to changes in soil conditions.…”

Section: Nematode Body Shape Responses To Grazing Could Be Controllmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…What this classification conceals is the large variation that occurs also within each size class. Nematodes, ubiquitous microfauna central to soil food web dynamics (Pausch et al., ; Trap, Bonkowski, Plassard, Villenave, & Blanchart, ), may span more than three orders of magnitude of mass in a soil (Zhao et al., ), even in the same trophic group (Verschoor, De Goede, De Vries, & Brussaard, ). While the effects of some factors (e.g., temperature and food availability) on the growth and fecundity of selected species of nematodes and other soil invertebrates have been investigated in laboratory studies, surprisingly little is known on what shapes the limits and distribution of body size traits in real communities, but resource availability and pore space appear to play important roles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Grazing and resource availability control soil nematode body size and abundance–mass relationship in semi‐arid grassland

Andriuzzi

Wall

2018

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Body size is a central functional trait in ecological communities. Despite recognition of the importance of above ground-below ground interactions, effects of above-ground herbivores on size and abundance-size relationships in soil fauna are almost uncharted. Depending on climate and soil properties, herbivores may increase basal resources of soil food webs, or reduce pore space, mechanisms expected to have contrasting effects on soil animal body size. We investigated how body size and shape of soil nematodes responded to mammalian grazers in three semi-arid grassland sites, along a gradient of soil texture and organic matter (OM) in a long-term herbivore removal study. We analysed nematode mass, length, diameter, body size distribution and biomass distribution. We formulated two mechanistic hypotheses to assess whether resource availability or pore space was the dominant abiotic control and modulated the effects of grazing. In ungrazed soils, average and maximum nematode size, as well as abundance and biomass of large nematodes, were greater in the high-OM than in the low-OM soil, and intermediate in the medium-OM soil. Grazing promoted larger sizes in the low-OM soil, where it had been shown to increase OM and microbial biomass, and led to more homogeneous average size and body size distribution across sites. The results support the hypothesis that nematode size was controlled by basal resource availability rather than by pore space. However, body shape might have been constrained by small pores in the fine-texture, high-OM soil, where nematodes were more elongated. Grazing may facilitate larger sizes in soil nematode communities by boosting basal resources where these are limiting, with important implications for estimations of nematode biomass and contribution to carbon and nutrient cycling. These findings contribute to the insofar-limited mechanistic understanding of how herbivores can shape functional traits of soil fauna and demonstrate that animals at one trophic level may control patterns in body size and abundance-size relationships in other trophic levels without a direct predator prey or competitive linkage between them.

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Section: Nematode Body Shape Responses To Grazing Could Be Controllmentioning

confidence: 74%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grazing and resource availability control soil nematode body size and abundance–mass relationship in semi‐arid grassland

Andriuzzi

Wall

2018

Journal of Animal Ecology

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“…Worthy of note, are newly published data that indicated accelerated rates of turnover in fungal and bacterial communities within the rhizosphere shuttle more carbon through fungal nutrient energy pathways than previously accredited bacterial pathways (Pausch et al 2016). Thus, future studies of Acacia koa will likely involve thorough inspection of fungal contributions to nutrient pools, additional leaf ecophysiological traits and later foliar incorporation, as well as genetic evaluations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stable isotope ratios and reforestation potential in Acacia koa populations on Hawai’i

Lawson

Pike

2017

Ann. For. Res.

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Lawson S. S., Pike C. C. 2017. Stable isotope ratios and reforestation potential in Acacia koa populations on Hawai'i. Ann. For. Res. 60(2): 279-295.Abstract. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes can be influenced by a multitude of factors including elevation, precipitation rate, season, and temperature. This work examined variability in foliar stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratios of koa (Acacia koa) across 17 sites on Hawai'i Island, delineated by elevation and precipitation gradients. Sites were identified and grouped with respect to mean annual precipitation (MAP), mean annual temperature (MAT) and position along three elevation transects. Analysis of resultant δ13C and δ15N isotope ratios from multiple individuals across ecoregions indicated certain regions exhibited a correlation between carbon and/or nitrogen content, isotope ratios, precipitation, and elevation however, many comparisons showed no correlation. We used publicly available temperature and moisture data to help eliminate confounding effects by climatic drivers and capture possible points of contention. At sites where the temperature, precipitation, and elevation data were not significantly different, we compared stable isotope information to determine if additional variables might have contributed to a lack of definitive data. Our results identified several areas within the Waiakea Forest Reserve and Volcanoes National Park where, based on isotope analyses, reforestation efforts could be most successfully initiated.

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“…; Pausch et al . ). Another promising avenue is apply the functional traits approach to soil organisms (Cragg & Bardgett ; Pey et al .…”

Section: Challenges and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Plant secondary metabolites: a key driver of litter decomposition and soil nutrient cycling

Chomel

Guittonny-Larchevêque

et al. 2016

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International audienceA broad and diversified group of compounds, secondary metabolites, are known to govern species interactions in ecosystems. Recent studies have shown that secondary metabolites can also play a major role in ecosystem processes, such as plant succession or in the process of litter decomposition, by governing the interplay between plant matter and soil organisms. We reviewed the ecological role of the three main classes of secondary metabolites and the methodological challenges and novel avenues for their study. We highlight emerging general patterns of the impacts of secondary metabolites on decomposer communities and litter decomposition and argue for the consideration of secondary compounds as key drivers of soil functioning and ecosystem functioning.Synthesis. Gaining a greater understanding of plant-soil organisms relationships and underlying mechanisms, including the role of secondary metabolites, could improve our ability to understand ecosystem processes. We outline some promising directions for future research that would stimulate studies aiming to understand the interactions of secondary metabolites across a range of spatio-temporal scales. Detailed mechanistic knowledge could help us to develop models for the process of litter decomposition and nutrient cycling in ecosystems and help us to predict future impacts of global changes on ecosystem functioning

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Small but active – pool size does not matter for carbon incorporation in below‐ground food webs

Cited by 99 publications

References 61 publications

Grazing and resource availability control soil nematode body size and abundance–mass relationship in semi‐arid grassland

Grazing and resource availability control soil nematode body size and abundance–mass relationship in semi‐arid grassland

Stable isotope ratios and reforestation potential in Acacia koa populations on Hawai’i

Plant secondary metabolites: a key driver of litter decomposition and soil nutrient cycling

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