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Li L, He XZ, Zhang J, Bryant R, Hu A, Hou F. Concurrent and legacy effects of sheep trampling on soil organic carbon stocks in a typical steppe, China. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 368:122121. [PMID: 39121623 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.122121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 08/01/2024] [Accepted: 08/04/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024]
Abstract
Grazing plays a key role in ecosystem biogeochemistry, particularly soil carbon (C) pools. The non-trophic interactions between herbivores and soil processes through herbivore trampling have recently attracted extensive attention. However, their concurrent and legacy effects on the ecosystem properties and processes are still not clear, due to their effects being hard to separate via field experiments. In this study, we conducted a 2-year simulated-sheep-trampling experiment with four trampling intensity treatments (i.e., T0, T40, T80, and T120 for 0, 40, 80, and 120 hoofprints m-2, respectively) in a typical steppe to explore the concurrent and legacy effects of trampling on grassland ecosystem properties and processing. In 2017 (trampling treatment year), we found that trampling decreased aboveground biomass (AGB) of plant community and community-weighted mean shoot C concentration (CWM C), soil available nitrogen (N) and available phosphorus (P), but did not affect plant species diversity and belowground biomass (BGB). We show that compared with T0, trampling increased soil bulk density (BD) at T80, and decreased soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. After the cessation of trampling for two years (i.e., in 2019), previous trampling increased plant diversity and BGB, reaching the highest values at T80, but decreased soil available N and available P. Compared with T0, previous trampling significantly increased soil BD at T120, while significantly decreased CWM C at T80 and T120, and reduced SOC stocks at T80. Compared with 2017, the trampling negative legacy effects amplified at T80 but weakened at T40 and T120. We also show that trampling-induced decreases in soil available N, AGB of Fabaceae and CWM C were the main predictors of decreasing SOC stocks in 2017, while previous trampling-induced legacy effects on soil available P, AGB of Poaceae and CWM C contributed to the variations of SOC stocks in 2019. Taken together, short-term trampling with low intensity could maintain most plant functions, while previous trampling with low intensity was beneficial to most plant and soil functions. The results of this study show that T40 caused by sheep managed at a stocking rate of 2.7 sheep ha-1 is most suitable for grassland adaptive management in the typical steppe. The ecosystem functions can be maintained under a high stocking rate through the process of providing enough time to rebuild sufficient vegetation cover and restore soil through measures such as regional rotational grazing and seasonal grazing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Technology Research Center for Ecological Restoration and Utilization of Degraded Grassland in Northwest China, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
| | - Xiong Zhao He
- School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - Jing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Technology Research Center for Ecological Restoration and Utilization of Degraded Grassland in Northwest China, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
| | - Racheal Bryant
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - An Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Technology Research Center for Ecological Restoration and Utilization of Degraded Grassland in Northwest China, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
| | - Fujiang Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Technology Research Center for Ecological Restoration and Utilization of Degraded Grassland in Northwest China, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China.
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Huusko K, Manninen OH, Myrsky E, Stark S. Soil fungal and bacterial communities reflect differently tundra vegetation state transitions and soil physico-chemical properties. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 243:407-422. [PMID: 38750646 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
Strong disturbances may induce ecosystem transitions into new alternative states that sustain through plant-soil interactions, such as the transition of dwarf shrub-dominated into graminoid-dominated vegetation by herbivory in tundra. Little evidence exists on soil microbial communities in alternative states, and along the slow process of ecosystem return into the predisturbance state. We analysed vegetation, soil microbial communities and activities as well as soil physico-chemical properties in historical reindeer enclosures in northernmost Finland in the following plot types: control heaths in the surrounding tundra; graminoid-dominated; 'shifting'; and recovered dwarf shrub-dominated vegetation inside enclosures. Soil fungal communities followed changes in vegetation, whereas bacterial communities were more affected by soil physico-chemical properties. Graminoid plots were characterized by moulds, pathotrophs and dark septate endophytes. Ericoid mycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi were typical for control and recovered plots. Soil microbial communities inside the enclosures showed historical contingency, as their spatial variation was high in recovered plots despite the vegetation being more homogeneous. Self-maintaining feedback loops between plant functional types, soil microbial communities, and carbon and nutrient mineralization act effectively to stabilize alternative vegetation states, but once predisturbance vegetation reestablishes itself, soil microbial communities and physico-chemical properties return back towards their predisturbance state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karoliina Huusko
- Arctic Center, University of Lapland, PO Box 122, Rovaniemi, FI-96101, Finland
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, PO Box 3000, Oulu, FI-90014, Finland
| | - Outi H Manninen
- Arctic Center, University of Lapland, PO Box 122, Rovaniemi, FI-96101, Finland
| | - Eero Myrsky
- Arctic Center, University of Lapland, PO Box 122, Rovaniemi, FI-96101, Finland
| | - Sari Stark
- Arctic Center, University of Lapland, PO Box 122, Rovaniemi, FI-96101, Finland
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Manninen OH, Myrsky E, Tolvanen A, Stark S. N-fertilization and disturbance exert long-lasting complex legacies on subarctic ecosystems. Oecologia 2024; 204:689-704. [PMID: 38478083 PMCID: PMC10980618 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-024-05524-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/01/2024]
Abstract
Subarctic ecosystems are subjected to increasing nitrogen (N) enrichment and disturbances that induce particularly strong effects on plant communities when occurring in combination. There is little experimental evidence on the longevity of these effects. We applied N-fertilization (40 kg urea-N ha-1 year-1 for 4 years) and disturbance (removal of vegetation and organic soil layer on one occasion) in two plant communities in a subarctic forest-tundra ecotone in northern Finland. Within the first four years, N-fertilization and disturbance increased the share of deciduous dwarf shrubs and graminoids at the expense of evergreen dwarf shrubs. Individual treatments intensified the other's effect resulting in the strongest increase in graminoids under combined N-fertilization and disturbance. The re-analysis of the plant communities 15 years after cessation of N-fertilization showed an even higher share of graminoids. 18 years after disturbance, the total vascular plant abundance was still substantially lower and the share of graminoids higher. At the same point, the plant community composition was the same under disturbance as under combined N-fertilization and disturbance, indicating that multiple perturbations no longer reinforced the other's effect. Yet, complex interactions between N-fertilization and disturbance were still detected in the soil. We found higher organic N under disturbance and lower microbial N under combined N-fertilization and disturbance, which suggests a lower bioavailability of N sources for soil microorganisms. Our findings support that the effects of enhanced nutrients and disturbance on subarctic vegetation persist over decadal timescales. However, they also highlight the complexity of plant-soil interactions that drive subarctic ecosystem responses to multiple perturbations across varying timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Outi H Manninen
- Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Pohjoisranta 4, 96100, Rovaniemi, Finland.
| | - Eero Myrsky
- Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Pohjoisranta 4, 96100, Rovaniemi, Finland
| | - Anne Tolvanen
- Natural Resource Institute Finland, Paavo Havaksen Tie 3, 90570, Oulu, Finland
| | - Sari Stark
- Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Pohjoisranta 4, 96100, Rovaniemi, Finland
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4
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Castaño C, Hallin S, Egelkraut D, Lindahl BD, Olofsson J, Clemmensen KE. Contrasting plant-soil-microbial feedbacks stabilize vegetation types and uncouple topsoil C and N stocks across a subarctic-alpine landscape. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 238:2621-2633. [PMID: 36519258 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Global vegetation regimes vary in belowground carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics. However, disentangling large-scale climatic controls from the effects of intrinsic plant-soil-microbial feedbacks on belowground processes is challenging. In local gradients with similar pedo-climatic conditions, effects of plant-microbial feedbacks may be isolated from large-scale drivers. Across a subarctic-alpine mosaic of historic grazing fields and surrounding heath and birch forest, we evaluated whether vegetation-specific plant-microbial feedbacks involved contrasting N cycling characteristics and C and N stocks in the organic topsoil. We sequenced soil fungi, quantified functional genes within the inorganic N cycle, and measured 15 N natural abundance. In grassland soils, large N stocks and low C : N ratios associated with fungal saprotrophs, archaeal ammonia oxidizers, and bacteria capable of respiratory ammonification, indicating maintained inorganic N cycling a century after abandoned reindeer grazing. Toward forest and heath, increasing abundance of mycorrhizal fungi co-occurred with transition to organic N cycling. However, ectomycorrhizal fungal decomposers correlated with small soil N and C stocks in forest, while root-associated ascomycetes associated with small N but large C stocks in heath, uncoupling C and N storage across vegetation types. We propose that contrasting, positive plant-microbial feedbacks stabilize vegetation trajectories, resulting in diverging soil C : N ratios at the landscape scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carles Castaño
- Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-75007, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sara Hallin
- Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-75007, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Dagmar Egelkraut
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, 5006, Bergen, Norway
| | - Björn D Lindahl
- Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, SE-75007, Sweden
| | - Johan Olofsson
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Karina Engelbrecht Clemmensen
- Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-75007, Uppsala, Sweden
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Buchkowski RW, Schmitz OJ. Weak interactions between strong interactors in an old‐field ecosystem: Control of nitrogen cycling by coupled herbivores and detritivores. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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6
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Tuomi M, Väisänen M, Ylänne H, Brearley FQ, Barrio IC, Anne Bråthen K, Eischeid I, Forbes BC, Jónsdóttir IS, Kolstad AL, Macek P, Petit Bon M, Speed JDM, Stark S, Svavarsdóttir K, Thórsson J, Bueno CG. Stomping in silence: Conceptualizing trampling effects on soils in polar tundra. Funct Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Tuomi
- Section of Ecology Department of Biology University of Turku Turku Finland
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries, and Economics The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - Maria Väisänen
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit University of Oulu Oulu Finland
- Arctic Centre University of Lapland Rovaniemi Finland
| | - Henni Ylänne
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit University of Oulu Oulu Finland
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Research Lund University Lund Sweden
| | - Francis Q. Brearley
- Department of Natural Sciences Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester UK
| | - Isabel C. Barrio
- Agricultural University of Iceland Reykjavík Iceland
- Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Iceland Reykjavík Iceland
| | - Kari Anne Bråthen
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries, and Economics The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - Isabell Eischeid
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries, and Economics The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
- Norwegian Polar InstituteFRAM – High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment Tromsø Norway
| | | | - Ingibjörg S. Jónsdóttir
- Agricultural University of Iceland Reykjavík Iceland
- University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) Longyearbyen Norway
| | - Anders L. Kolstad
- Department of Natural History NTNU University MuseumNorwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
| | - Petr Macek
- Centre for Polar Ecology Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic
- Biology Centre ASCRInstitute of Soil Biology Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic
| | - Matteo Petit Bon
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries, and Economics The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
- University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) Longyearbyen Norway
| | - James D. M. Speed
- Department of Natural History NTNU University MuseumNorwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
| | - Sari Stark
- Arctic Centre University of Lapland Rovaniemi Finland
| | | | | | - C. Guillermo Bueno
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences Department of Botany University of Tartu Tartu Estonia
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Riseth JÅ, Tømmervik H, Tryland M. Spreading or Gathering? Can Traditional Knowledge be a Resource to Tackle Reindeer Diseases Associated with Climate Change? INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:ijerph17166002. [PMID: 32824833 PMCID: PMC7459598 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17166002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Revised: 08/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
This paper inquires whether reindeer herders’ traditional knowledge (TK) provides a reservoir of precaution and adaptation possibilities that may be relevant to counteract climate change. As our core example, we used the milking of reindeer—which, in some areas, was practiced up until the 1950s–1960s—and the risk of getting foot rot disease (digital necrobacillosis; slubbo in North Sámi), caused by the bacterium Fusobacterium necrophorum. Via wounds or scratches, the bacterium creates an infection that makes the infected limb swell and, eventually, necrotize. The disease is often mortal in its final stage. Historically, female reindeer were gathered on unfenced milking meadows near herder tents or in small corrals, from early summer onward. When the soil was wet and muddy, the risk of developing digital necrobacillosis was considerable. Our sources included classical Sámi author/herder narratives, ethnographic and veterinary literature, and herder interviews. For this study, we conducted a qualitative review of the literature and carried out individual in-depth interviews with local knowledge holders. Our findings seem consistent: a documented prevention strategy was, in early summer, to move the reindeer to unused grazing land and to avoid staying too long in trampled and dirty grazing land. Contemporary climate change and winter uncertainty due to freeze–thaw cycles and ice-locked pastures challenge this type of strategy. Due to a lack of pasture resources, typical actions today include the increased use of supplementary feeding, which involves more gathering and handling of reindeer, higher animal density, challenging hygienic conditions, and stress, which all contribute to increased risks of contracting and transmitting diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Åge Riseth
- Department of Social Sciences, NORCE, Rombaksvegen E6 47, N-8517 Narvik, Norway
- Correspondence:
| | - Hans Tømmervik
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research–NINA, FRAM—High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment, P.O. Box 6606 Langnes, N-9296 Tromsø, Norway;
| | - Morten Tryland
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Framstredet 39, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway;
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8
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Stam JM, Kos M, Dicke M, Poelman EH. Cross-seasonal legacy effects of arthropod community on plant fitness in perennial plants. THE JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 2019; 107:2451-2463. [PMID: 31598003 PMCID: PMC6774310 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.13231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Accepted: 06/06/2019] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
In perennial plants, interactions with other community members during the vegetative growth phase may influence community assembly during subsequent reproductive years and may influence plant fitness. It is well-known that plant responses to herbivory affect community assembly within a growing season, but whether plant-herbivore interactions result in legacy effects on community assembly across seasons has received little attention. Moreover, whether plant-herbivore interactions during the vegetative growing season are important in predicting plant fitness directly or indirectly through legacy effects is poorly understood.Here, we tested whether plant-arthropod interactions in the vegetative growing season of perennial wild cabbage plants, Brassica oleracea, result in legacy effects in arthropod community assembly in the subsequent reproductive season and whether legacy effects have plant fitness consequences. We monitored the arthropod community on plants that had been induced with either aphids, caterpillars or no herbivores in a full-factorial design across 2 years. We quantified the plant traits 'height', 'number of leaves' and 'number of flowers' to understand mechanisms that may mediate legacy effects. We measured seed production in the second year to evaluate plant fitness consequences of legacy effects.Although we did not find community responses to the herbivory treatments, our data show that community composition in the first year leaves a legacy on community composition in a second year: predator community composition co-varied across years. Structural equation modelling analyses indicated that herbivore communities in the vegetative year correlated with plant performance traits that may have caused a legacy effect on especially predator community assembly in the subsequent reproductive year. Interestingly, the legacy of the herbivore community in the vegetative year predicted plant fitness better than the herbivore community that directly interacted with plants in the reproductive year. Synthesis. Thus, legacy effects of plant-herbivore interactions affect community assembly on perennial plants across growth seasons and these processes may affect plant reproductive success. We argue that plant-herbivore interactions in the vegetative phase as well as in the cross-seasonal legacy effects caused by plant responses to arthropod herbivory may be important in perennial plant trait evolution such as ontogenetic variation in growth and defence strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeltje M. Stam
- Laboratory of EntomologyWageningen UniversityWageningenThe Netherlands
| | - Martine Kos
- Laboratory of EntomologyWageningen UniversityWageningenThe Netherlands
| | - Marcel Dicke
- Laboratory of EntomologyWageningen UniversityWageningenThe Netherlands
| | - Erik H. Poelman
- Laboratory of EntomologyWageningen UniversityWageningenThe Netherlands
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Barthelemy H, Dorrepaal E, Olofsson J. Defoliation of a grass is mediated by the positive effect of dung deposition, moss removal and enhanced soil nutrient contents: results from a reindeer grazing simulation experiment. OIKOS 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.06310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hélène Barthelemy
- Dept of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå Univ SE‐901 87 Umeå Sweden
| | - Ellen Dorrepaal
- Dept of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå Univ SE‐901 87 Umeå Sweden
| | - Johan Olofsson
- Climate Impacts Research Centre, Dept of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå Univ SE‐981 07 Abisko Sweden
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10
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Saikkonen T, Vahtera V, Koponen S, Suominen O. Effects of reindeer grazing and recovery after cessation of grazing on the ground-dwelling spider assemblage in Finnish Lapland. PeerJ 2019; 7:e7330. [PMID: 31346502 PMCID: PMC6642629 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2018] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The effect of reindeer Rangifer tarandus L. grazing on the ground-dwelling spider assemblage in Northern Finland was studied. Changes in species richness, abundance and evenness of spider assemblages were analyzed in relation to changes in vegetation and environmental factors in long term grazed and ungrazed sites as well as sites that had recently switched from grazed to ungrazed and vice versa. Grazing was found to have a significant impact on height and biomass of lichens and other ground vegetation. However, it seemed not to have an impact on the total abundance of spiders. This is likely caused by opposing family and species level responses of spiders to the grazing regime. Lycosid numbers were highest in grazed and linyphiid numbers in ungrazed areas. Lycosidae species richness was highest in ungrazed areas whereas Linyphiidae richness showed no response to grazing. Four Linyphiidae, one Thomisidae and one Lycosidae species showed strong preference for specific treatments. Sites that had recovered from grazing for nine years and the sites that were grazed for the last nine years but were previously ungrazed resembled the long term grazed sites. The results emphasize the importance of reindeer as a modifier of boreal forest ecosystems but the impact of reindeer grazing on spiders seems to be family and species specific. The sites with reversed grazing treatment demonstrate that recovery from strong grazing pressure at these high latitudes is a slow process whereas reindeer can rapidly change the conditions in previously ungrazed sites similar to long term heavily grazed conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teemu Saikkonen
- Zoological Museum, Biodiversity Unit, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Varpu Vahtera
- Zoological Museum, Biodiversity Unit, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Seppo Koponen
- Zoological Museum, Biodiversity Unit, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Otso Suominen
- Kevo Subarctic Research Institute, Biodiversity Unit, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
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11
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Wubs ERJ, van der Putten WH, Mortimer SR, Korthals GW, Duyts H, Wagenaar R, Bezemer TM. Single introductions of soil biota and plants generate long-term legacies in soil and plant community assembly. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:1145-1151. [PMID: 31020756 PMCID: PMC6850328 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2019] [Revised: 03/28/2019] [Accepted: 04/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Recent demonstrations of the role of plant–soil biota interactions have challenged the conventional view that vegetation changes are mainly driven by changing abiotic conditions. However, while this concept has been validated under natural conditions, our understanding of the long‐term consequences of plant–soil interactions for above‐belowground community assembly is restricted to mathematical and conceptual model projections. Here, we demonstrate experimentally that one‐time additions of soil biota and plant seeds alter soil‐borne nematode and plant community composition in semi‐natural grassland for 20 years. Over time, aboveground and belowground community composition became increasingly correlated, suggesting an increasing connectedness of soil biota and plants. We conclude that the initial composition of not only plant communities, but also soil communities has a long‐lasting impact on the trajectory of community assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- E R Jasper Wubs
- Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Department of Terrestrial Ecology, P.O. Box 50, 6700 AB, Wageningen, the Netherlands.,Wageningen University and Research Centre, Laboratory of Nematology, P.O. Box 8123, 6700 ES, Wageningen, The Netherlands.,ETH Zürich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Environmental Systems Science, Sustainable Agroecosystems Group, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Wim H van der Putten
- Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Department of Terrestrial Ecology, P.O. Box 50, 6700 AB, Wageningen, the Netherlands.,Wageningen University and Research Centre, Laboratory of Nematology, P.O. Box 8123, 6700 ES, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Simon R Mortimer
- The University of Reading, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, Reading, UK
| | - Gerard W Korthals
- Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Department of Terrestrial Ecology, P.O. Box 50, 6700 AB, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Henk Duyts
- Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Department of Terrestrial Ecology, P.O. Box 50, 6700 AB, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Roel Wagenaar
- Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Department of Terrestrial Ecology, P.O. Box 50, 6700 AB, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - T Martijn Bezemer
- Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Department of Terrestrial Ecology, P.O. Box 50, 6700 AB, Wageningen, the Netherlands.,Leiden University, Institute of Biology, Section Plant Ecology and Phytochemistry, P.O. Box 9505, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands
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12
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Stark S, Egelkraut D, Aronsson KÅ, Olofsson J. Contrasting vegetation states do not diverge in soil organic matter storage: evidence from historical sites in tundra. Ecology 2019; 100:e02731. [PMID: 30991449 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2018] [Revised: 02/13/2019] [Accepted: 03/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Ecosystems where severe disturbance has induced permanent shifts in vegetation and soil processes may represent alternative stable states. To date, little is known on how long-lasting changes in soil processes are following such disturbances, and how the changes in plant and soil processes between the alternative states eventually manifest themselves in soil organic matter (SOM) storage. Here, we analyzed plant density, the shrub : forb ratio, microbial respiration, extracellular enzyme activities and SOM stocks in soils of subarctic tundra and historical milking grounds, where reindeer herding induced a vegetation transition from deciduous shrubs to graminoids several centuries earlier but were abandoned a century ago. This provides the possibility to compare sites with similar topography, but highly contrasting vegetation for centuries. We found that enzymatic activities and N:P stoichiometry differed between control and disturbed sites, confirming that culturally induced vegetation shifts exert lasting impacts on tundra soil processes. Transition zones, where shrubs had encroached into the historical milking grounds during the past 50 yr, indicated that microbial activities for N and P acquisition changed more rapidly along a vegetation shift than those for microbial C acquisition. Although plant and soil processes differed between control and disturbed sites, we found no effect of historical vegetation transition on SOM stock. Across the study sites, soil SOM stocks were correlated with total plant density but not with the shrub : forb ratio. Our finding that SOM stock was insensitive to a centennial difference in plant community composition suggests that, as such, grazing-induced alternative vegetation states might not necessarily differ in SOM sequestration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sari Stark
- Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, FI 96100, Rovaniemi, Finland
| | - Dagmar Egelkraut
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | | | - Johan Olofsson
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
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De Long JR, Fry EL, Veen GF, Kardol P. Why are plant–soil feedbacks so unpredictable, and what to do about it? Funct Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan R. De Long
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology Netherlands Institute of Ecology Wageningen The Netherlands
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences The University of Manchester Manchester UK
| | - Ellen L. Fry
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences The University of Manchester Manchester UK
| | - G. F. Veen
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology Netherlands Institute of Ecology Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Paul Kardol
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Umeå Sweden
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