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Gavín-Centol MP, Serrano-Carnero D, Montserrat M, Meyer S, Scheu S, Kundel D, Fliessbach A, Truu J, Birkhofer K, Sánchez-Moreno S, Moya-Laraño J. Severe drought and conventional farming affect detritivore feeding activity and its vertical distribution. Basic Appl Ecol 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2023.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/05/2023]
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Dodd RJ, Chadwick DR, Hill PW, Hayes F, Sánchez-Rodríguez AR, Gwynn-Jones D, Smart SM, Jones DL. Resilience of ecosystem service delivery in grasslands in response to single and compound extreme weather events. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 861:160660. [PMID: 36464051 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and magnitude with profound effects on ecosystem functioning. Further, there is now a greater likelihood that multiple extreme events are occurring within a single year. Here we investigated the effect of a single drought, flood or compound (flood + drought) extreme event on temperate grassland ecosystem processes in a field experiment. To assess system resistance and resilience, we studied changes in a wide range of above- and below-ground indicators (plant diversity and productivity, greenhouse gas emissions, soil chemical, physical and biological metrics) during the 8 week stress events and then for 2 years post-stress. We hypothesized that agricultural grasslands would have different degrees of resistance and resilience to flood and drought stress. We also investigated two alternative hypotheses that the combined flood + drought treatment would either, (A) promote ecosystem resilience through more rapid recovery of soil moisture conditions or (B) exacerbate the impact of the single flood or drought event. Our results showed that flooding had a much greater effect than drought on ecosystem processes and that the grassland was more resistant and resilient to drought than to flood. The immediate impact of flooding on all indicators was negative, especially for those related to production, and climate and water regulation. Flooding stress caused pronounced and persistent shifts in soil microbial and plant communities with large implications for nutrient cycling and long-term ecosystem function. The compound flood + drought treatment failed to show a more severe impact than the single extreme events. Rather, there was an indication of quicker recovery of soil and microbial parameters suggesting greater resilience in line with hypothesis (A). This study clearly reveals that contrasting extreme weather events differentially affect grassland ecosystem function but that concurrent events of a contrasting nature may promote ecosystem resilience to future stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosalind J Dodd
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Ave, Bailrigg LA1 4AP, UK; Environment Centre Wales, School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK.
| | - David R Chadwick
- Environment Centre Wales, School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Paul W Hill
- Environment Centre Wales, School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Felicity Hayes
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Antonio R Sánchez-Rodríguez
- Environment Centre Wales, School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK; Departamento de Agronomía, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba 14071, Spain
| | - Dylan Gwynn-Jones
- Department of Life Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 3DA, UK
| | - Simon M Smart
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Ave, Bailrigg LA1 4AP, UK
| | - Davey L Jones
- Environment Centre Wales, School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK; SoilsWest, Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems, Food Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6105, Australia
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Ulrich W, Batáry P, Baudry J, Beaumelle L, Bucher R, Čerevková A, de la Riva EG, Felipe‐Lucia MR, Gallé R, Kesse‐Guyot E, Rembiałkowska E, Rusch A, Stanley D, Birkhofer K. From biodiversity to health: Quantifying the impact of diverse ecosystems on human well‐being. PEOPLE AND NATURE 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Werner Ulrich
- Department of Ecology and Biogeography Nicolaus Copernicus University Toruń Poland
| | - Péter Batáry
- Lendület Landscape and Conservation Ecology Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research Vácrátót Hungary
| | - Julia Baudry
- INRAE U1125, INSERM U1153, CNAM, USPN, Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN) Epidemiology and Statistics Research Center University of Paris (CRESS) Bobigny France
| | - Léa Beaumelle
- INRAE Bordeaux Sciences Agro, ISVV, SAVE Villenave d'Ornon France
| | - Roman Bucher
- Department of Ecology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus‐Senftenberg Cottbus Germany
| | - Andrea Čerevková
- Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences Košice Slovakia
| | - Enrique G. de la Riva
- Department of Ecology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus‐Senftenberg Cottbus Germany
- Department of Biodiversity and Environmental Management Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of León León Spain
| | - Maria R. Felipe‐Lucia
- Department of Ecosystem Services Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ Leipzig Germany
- Department of Ecosystem Services German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Germany
| | - Róbert Gallé
- Lendület Landscape and Conservation Ecology Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research Vácrátót Hungary
| | - Emmanuelle Kesse‐Guyot
- INRAE U1125, INSERM U1153, CNAM, USPN, Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN) Epidemiology and Statistics Research Center University of Paris (CRESS) Bobigny France
| | - Ewa Rembiałkowska
- Department of Functional and Organic Food Warsaw University of Life Sciences Warsaw Poland
| | - Adrien Rusch
- INRAE Bordeaux Sciences Agro, ISVV, SAVE Villenave d'Ornon France
| | - Dara Stanley
- School of Agriculture and Food Science University College Dublin Dublin 4 Ireland
| | - Klaus Birkhofer
- Department of Ecology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus‐Senftenberg Cottbus Germany
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Birkhofer K, Baulechner D, Diekötter T, Zaitsev A, Wolters V. Fertilization Rapidly Alters the Feeding Activity of Grassland Soil Mesofauna Independent of Management History. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.864470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Nitrogen fertilization of permanent grasslands affects soil fauna communities by modifying their taxonomic composition, population dynamics and feeding activity. However, it is not well understood if the edaphic fauna adapts to these external inputs so that the immediate response to fertilizer application depends on the long-term nutrient management strategy. We performed a field experiment in permanent grasslands under agricultural management in three regions across Germany. We used experimental fertilization with an organic plant-sourced fertilizer along a long-term nutrient management gradient to study the immediate and long-term effects of fertilization and their interdependence on the taxonomic composition and feeding activity of the soil mesofauna (Nematoda, Oribatida, and Collembola). Sampling season, soil properties, vegetation structure, and geographic location were considered as additional predictor variables to reflect heterogeneity in environmental conditions. The taxonomic composition, richness and total abundance of soil mesofauna communities were significantly affected by long-term nutrient management, but not by experimental fertilization. However, N pulses rapidly (within days) reduced the feeding activity estimated with bait-lamina strips independent of long-term nutrient management strategies. Experimental addition of organic plant-sourced fertilizer may have led to a rapid build-up of microbial biomass, providing alternative food sources for the soil mesofauna and causing a shift away from the bait-lamina substrate. Our study indicates that community changes associated with the long-term nutrient management regime in permanent grasslands do not alter the strong functional response of the soil mesofauna to N pulses. There is an urgent need to develop nutrient management strategies for permanent grasslands that take into account both the conservation of the edaphic faunal community and changes of ecosystem functions caused by rapid responses of the soil mesofauna to fertilizer inputs.
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The Functional Structure of Tropical Plant Communities and Soil Properties Enhance Ecosystem Functioning and Multifunctionality in Different Ecosystems in Ghana. FORESTS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/f13020297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Plant functional traits are useful in tracking changes in the environment, and play an important role in determining ecosystem functioning. The relationship between plant functional traits and ecosystem functioning remains unclear, although there is growing evidence on this relationship. In this study, we tested whether the functional structure of vegetation has significant effects on the provision of ecosystem services. We analysed plant trait composition (specific leaf area, leaf carbon and nitrogen ratio, isotopic carbon fraction, stem dry matter content, seed mass and plant height), soil parameters (nutrients, pH, bulk density) and proxies of ecosystem services (carbon stock, decomposition rate, invertebrate activity) in twenty-four plots in three tropical ecosystems (active restored and natural forests and an agroforestry system) in Ghana. For each plot, we measured above-ground biomass, decomposition rates of leaves and invertebrate activity as proxies for the provision of ecosystem services to evaluate (i) whether there were differences in functional composition and soil properties and their magnitude between ecosystem types. We further aimed to (ii) determine whether the functional structure and/or soil parameters drove ecosystem functions and multifunctionality in the three ecosystem types. For functional composition, both the leaf economic spectrum and seed mass dimension clearly separated the ecosystem types. The natural forest was more dominated by acquisitive plants than the other two ecosystem types, while the non-natural forests (agroforest and restored forest) showed higher variation in the functional space. The natural forest had higher values of soil properties than the restored forest and the agroforestry system, with the differences between the restored and agroforestry systems driven by bulk density. Levels of ecosystem service proxies and multifunctionality were positively related to the functional richness of forest plots and were mainly explained by the differences in site conditions. Our study demonstrated the effects of functional forest structure on ecosystem services in different forest ecosystems located in the semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana.
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