Details zur Publikation

Kategorie Textpublikation
Referenztyp Zeitschriften
DOI 10.1007/s00442-017-3962-9
Volltext Shareable Link
Titel (primär) Root chemistry and soil fauna, but not soil abiotic conditions explain the effects of plant diversity on root decomposition
Autor Chen, H.; Oram, N.J.; Barry, K.E.; Mommer, L.; van Ruijven, J.; de Kroon, H.; Ebeling, A.; Eisenhauer, N.; Fischer, C.; Gleixner, G.; Gessler, A.; González Macé, O.; Hacker, N.; Hildebrandt, A.; Lange, M.; Scherer-Lorenzen, M.; Scheu, S.; Oelmann, Y.; Wagg, C.; Wilcke, W.; Wirth, C.; Weigelt, A.
Quelle Oecologia
Erscheinungsjahr 2017
Department NSF
Band/Volume 185
Heft 3
Seite von 499
Seite bis 511
Sprache englisch
Daten-/Softwarelinks https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.6k23f
Supplements https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1007%2Fs00442-017-3962-9/MediaObjects/442_2017_3962_MOESM1_ESM.pdf
Keywords Species richness; Functional groups; Root litter; Jena Experiment; SEM
UFZ Querschnittsthemen RU2;
Abstract Plant diversity influences many ecosystem functions including root decomposition. However, due to the presence of multiple pathways via which plant diversity may affect root decomposition, our mechanistic understanding of their relationships is limited. In a grassland biodiversity experiment, we simultaneously assessed the effects of three pathways—root litter quality, soil biota, and soil abiotic conditions—on the relationships between plant diversity (in terms of species richness and the presence/absence of grasses and legumes) and root decomposition using structural equation modeling. Our final structural equation model explained 70% of the variation in root mass loss. However, different measures of plant diversity included in our model operated via different pathways to alter root mass loss. Plant species richness had a negative effect on root mass loss. This was partially due to increased Oribatida abundance, but was weakened by enhanced root potassium (K) concentration in more diverse mixtures. Equally, grass presence negatively affected root mass loss. This effect of grasses was mostly mediated via increased root lignin concentration and supported via increased Oribatida abundance and decreased root K concentration. In contrast, legume presence showed a net positive effect on root mass loss via decreased root lignin concentration and increased root magnesium concentration, both of which led to enhanced root mass loss. Overall, the different measures of plant diversity had contrasting effects on root decomposition. Furthermore, we found that root chemistry and soil biota but not root morphology or soil abiotic conditions mediated these effects of plant diversity on root decomposition.
dauerhafte UFZ-Verlinkung https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=19561
Chen, H., Oram, N.J., Barry, K.E., Mommer, L., van Ruijven, J., de Kroon, H., Ebeling, A., Eisenhauer, N., Fischer, C., Gleixner, G., Gessler, A., González Macé, O., Hacker, N., Hildebrandt, A., Lange, M., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Scheu, S., Oelmann, Y., Wagg, C., Wilcke, W., Wirth, C., Weigelt, A. (2017):
Root chemistry and soil fauna, but not soil abiotic conditions explain the effects of plant diversity on root decomposition
Oecologia 185 (3), 499 - 511 10.1007/s00442-017-3962-9