Impacts of soil faunal community composition on model grassland ecosystems

M. A. Bradford, T. H. Jones, H. I. Black, B. Boag, M. Bonkowski, Robin Cook, T. Eggers, A. C. Gange, S. J. Grayston, E. Kandeler, A. E. McCaig, J. E. Newington, James Ivor Prosser, H. Setala, R. D. Bardgett

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

248 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Human impacts, including global change, may alter the composition of soil faunal communities, but consequences for ecosystem functioning are poorly understood. We constructed model grassland systems in the Ecotron controlled environment facility and manipulated soil community composition through assemblages of different animal body sizes. Plant community composition, microbial and root biomass, decomposition rate, and mycorrhizal colonization were all markedly affected. However, two key ecosystem processes, aboveground net primary productivity and net ecosystem productivity, were surprisingly resistant to these changes. We hypothesize that positive and negative faunal-mediated effects in soil communities cancel each other out, causing no net ecosystem effects.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)615-618
Number of pages3
JournalScience
Volume298
Issue number5593
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2002

Keywords

  • TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
  • DECOMPOSITION
  • BIODIVERSITY
  • AGROECOSYSTEMS
  • MINERALIZATION
  • DIVERSITY
  • NITROGEN
  • GROWTH

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