1. Impacts of soil faunal community composition on model grassland ecosystems.
- Author
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Bradford MA, Jones TH, Bardgett RD, Black HI, Boag B, Bonkowski M, Cook R, Eggers T, Gange AC, Grayston SJ, Kandeler E, McCaig AE, Newington JE, Prosser JI, Setälä H, Staddon PL, Tordoff GM, Tscherko D, and Lawton JH
- Subjects
- Animals, Bacteria growth & development, Biomass, Body Constitution, Carbon metabolism, Ecological Systems, Closed, Environment, Fungi growth & development, Oxygen Consumption, Photosynthesis, Plant Development, Plant Roots metabolism, Poaceae growth & development, Population Density, Soil Microbiology, Ecosystem, Soil
- 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.
- Published
- 2002
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