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Abrahão A, Marhan S, Boeddinghaus RS, Nawaz A, Wubet T, Hölzel N, Klaus VH, Kleinebecker T, Freitag M, Hamer U, Oliveira RS, Lambers H, Kandeler E. Microbial drivers of plant richness and productivity in a grassland restoration experiment along a gradient of land-use intensity. New Phytol 2022; 236:1936-1950. [PMID: 36128644 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) underlying grassland plant richness and productivity are typically coupled with nutrient availability; however, we lack understanding of how restoration measures to increase plant diversity might affect PSFs. We examined the roles of sward disturbance, seed addition and land-use intensity (LUI) on PSFs. We conducted a disturbance and seed addition experiment in 10 grasslands along a LUI gradient and characterized plant biomass and richness, soil microbial biomass, community composition and enzyme activities. Greater plant biomass at high LUI was related to a decrease in the fungal to bacterial ratios, indicating highly productive grasslands to be dominated by bacteria. Lower enzyme activity per microbial biomass at high plant species richness indicated a slower carbon (C) cycling. The relative abundance of fungal saprotrophs decreased, while pathogens increased with LUI and disturbance. Both fungal guilds were negatively associated with plant richness, indicating the mechanisms underlying PSFs depended on LUI. We show that LUI and disturbance affect fungal functional composition, which may feedback on plant species richness by impeding the establishment of pathogen-sensitive species. Therefore, we highlight the need to integrate LUI including its effects on PSFs when planning for practices that aim to optimize plant diversity and productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Abrahão
- Department of Soil Biology, Institute of Soil Science and Land Evaluation, University of Hohenheim, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany
- Department of Biology, Science Center, Federal University of Ceará - UFC, Fortaleza, CE, 60440-900, Brazil
| | - Sven Marhan
- Department of Soil Biology, Institute of Soil Science and Land Evaluation, University of Hohenheim, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Runa S Boeddinghaus
- Department of Soil Biology, Institute of Soil Science and Land Evaluation, University of Hohenheim, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany
- Landwirtschaftliches Technologiezentrum Augustenberg, 76227, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Ali Nawaz
- Department of Community Ecology, UFZ - Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
- Department of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Munich, Am Coulombwall 3, 85748, Garching, Germany
| | - Tesfaye Wubet
- Department of Community Ecology, UFZ - Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
- German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Norbert Hölzel
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstr. 2, D-48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Valentin H Klaus
- Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zürich, Universitätstr. 2, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Till Kleinebecker
- Institute of Landscape Ecology and Resources Management, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32, D-35392, Gießen, Germany
- Center for International Development and Environmental Research (ZEU), Justus Liebig University Giessen, Senckenbergstrasse 3, 35390, Giessen, Germany
| | - Martin Freitag
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstr. 2, D-48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Ute Hamer
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstr. 2, D-48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Rafael S Oliveira
- Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13083-970, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Hans Lambers
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Ellen Kandeler
- Department of Soil Biology, Institute of Soil Science and Land Evaluation, University of Hohenheim, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany
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