Plant diversity enhances the reclamation of degraded lands by stimulating plant–soil feedbacks

Our study, which was conducted in the desert grassland of Ningxia in China (E 107.285, N 37.763), involved an experiment with five levels of annual precipitation 33% (R33), 66% (R66), 100% (CK), 133% (R133), 166% (R166) and two temperature levels (inside Open-Top Chamber (OTC) and outside OTC). Our objective was to determine how plant, soil bacteria, and fungi diversity respond to climate change. Our study suggested that plant α-diversity in CK and TCK were significantly higher than that of other treatments. Increased precipitation promoted root biomass (RB) growth more than aboveground living biomass (ALB). R166 promoted the biomass of Agropyron mongolicum the most. In the fungi communities, temperature and precipitation interaction promoted α-diversity. In the fungi communities, the combination of increased temperature and natural precipitation (TCK) promoted β-diversity the most, whose distance was determined to be 25,124 according to PCA. In the bacteria communities, β-diversity in CK was significantly higher than in other treatments, and the distance was determined to be 3010 according to PCA. Soil bacteria and fungi α- and β-diversity, and ALB promoted plant diversity the most. The interactive effects of temperature and precipitation on C, N, and P contents of plants were larger than their independent effects.

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Linking microbial inoculants and associated changes in the soil microbiome to plant-soil performance in degraded lands

10.33540/980 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Zhikang Wang

Keyword(s):

Soil Microbiome ◽

Microbial Inoculants ◽

Degraded Lands ◽

Plant Soil

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Diversity‐dependent plant–soil feedbacks underlie long‐term plant diversity effects on primary productivity

Ecosphere ◽

10.1002/ecs2.2704 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. e02704 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Nathaly R. Guerrero‐Ramírez ◽

Peter B. Reich ◽

Cameron Wagg ◽

Marcel Ciobanu ◽

Nico Eisenhauer

Keyword(s):

Plant Diversity ◽

Primary Productivity ◽

Plant Soil ◽

Diversity Effects

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Rapid transfer of photosynthetic carbon through the plant-soil system in differently managed species-rich grasslands

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-8-1131-2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 8 (5) ◽

pp. 1131-1139 ◽

Cited By ~ 70

Author(s):

G. B. De Deyn ◽

H. Quirk ◽

S. Oakley ◽

N. Ostle ◽

R. D. Bardgett

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Soil Microbes ◽

Soil Microbial Communities ◽

Short Term ◽

Soil System ◽

Plant Soil ◽

C Cycling ◽

C Assimilation ◽

Rapid Transfer

Abstract. Plant-soil interactions are central to short-term carbon (C) cycling through the rapid transfer of recently assimilated C from plant roots to soil biota. In grassland ecosystems, changes in C cycling are likely to be influenced by land use and management that changes vegetation and the associated soil microbial communities. Here we tested whether changes in grassland vegetation composition resulting from management for plant diversity influences short-term rates of C assimilation and transfer from plants to soil microbes. To do this, we used an in situ 13C-CO2 pulse-labelling approach to measure differential C uptake among different plant species and the transfer of the plant-derived 13C to key groups of soil microbiota across selected treatments of a long-term plant diversity grassland restoration experiment. Results showed that plant taxa differed markedly in the rate of 13C assimilation and concentration: uptake was greatest and 13C concentration declined fastest in Ranunculus repens, and assimilation was least and 13C signature remained longest in mosses. Incorporation of recent plant-derived 13C was maximal in all microbial phosopholipid fatty acid (PLFA) markers at 24 h after labelling. The greatest incorporation of 13C was in the PLFA 16:1ω5, a marker for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), while after 1 week most 13C was retained in the PLFA18:2ω6,9 which is indicative of assimilation of plant-derived 13C by saprophytic fungi. Our results of 13C assimilation and transfer within plant species and soil microbes were consistent across management treatments. Overall, our findings suggest that plant diversity restoration management may not directly affect the C assimilation or retention of C by individual plant taxa or groups of soil microbes, it can impact on the fate of recent C by changing their relative abundances in the plant-soil system. Moreover, across all treatments we found that plant-derived C is rapidly transferred specifically to AMF and decomposer fungi, indicating their consistent key role in the cycling of recent plant derived C.

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Diversity-dependent plant-soil feedbacks underlie long-term plant diversity effects on primary productivity

10.1101/376269 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Nathaly R. Guerrero-Ramírez ◽

Peter B. Reich ◽

Cameron Wagg ◽

Marcel Ciobanu ◽

Nico Eisenhauer

Keyword(s):

Plant Communities ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Ecosystem Functioning ◽

Nitrogen Availability ◽

Soil Nitrogen Availability ◽

Plant Soil ◽

Soil Legacy ◽

Main Driver ◽

Underlying Mechanisms ◽

Diversity Effects

AbstractAlthough diversity-dependent plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) may contribute significantly to plant diversity effects on ecosystem functioning, the influence of underlying abiotic and biotic mechanistic pathways have been little explored to date. Here, we assessed such pathways with a PSF experiment using soil conditioned for ≥12 years from two grassland biodiversity experiments. Model plant communities differing in diversity were grown in soils conditioned by plant communities with either low- or high-diversity (soil history). Our results reveal that plant diversity can modify plant productivity through both diversity-mediated plant-plant and plant-soil interactions, with the main driver (current plant diversity or soil history) differing with experimental context. The underlying mechanisms of PSFs were explained to a significant extent by both abiotic and biotic pathways (specifically, nematode richness and soil nitrogen availability). Thus, effects of plant diversity loss on ecosystem functioning may persist or even increase over time because of biotic and abiotic soil legacy effects.

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Rapid transfer of photosynthetic carbon through the plant-soil system in differently managed grasslands

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-8-921-2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 921-940 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

G. B. De Deyn ◽

H. Quirk ◽

S. Oakley ◽

N. Ostle ◽

R. D. Bardgett

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Soil Microbes ◽

Soil Microbial Communities ◽

Short Term ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Plant Soil ◽

C Cycling ◽

Rapid Transfer

Abstract. Plant-soil interactions are central to short-term carbon (C) cycling through the rapid transfer of recently assimilated C from plant roots to soil biota. In grassland ecosystems, changes in C cycling are likely to be influenced by land use and management that changes vegetation and the associated soil microbial communities. Here we tested whether changes in grassland vegetation composition resulting from management for plant diversity influences short-term rates of C assimilation, retention and transfer from plants to soil microbes. To do this, we used an in situ 13C-CO2 pulse-labeling approach to measure differential C uptake among different plant species and the transfer of the plant-derived 13C to key groups of soil microbiota across selected treatments of a long-term plant diversity grassland restoration experiment. Results showed that plant taxa differed markedly in the rate of 13C assimilation and retention: uptake was greatest and retention lowest in Ranunculus repens, and assimilation was least and retained longest in mosses. Incorporation of recent plant-derived 13C was maximal in all microbial phosopholipid fatty acid (PLFA) markers at 24 h after labeling. The greatest incorporation of 13C was in the PLFA 16:1ω5, a marker for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), while after one week most 13C was retained in the PLFA 18:2ω6,9 which is indicative of assimilation of plant-derived 13C by saprophytic fungi. Our results of 13C assimilation, transfer and retention within plant species and soil microbes were consistent across management treatments. Overall, our findings suggest that changes in vegetation and soil microbial composition resulting from differences in long-term grassland management will affect short-term cycling of photosynthetic C, but that restoration management does not alter the short-term C uptake and transfer within plant species and within key groups of soil microbes. Moreover, across all treatments we found that plant-derived C is rapidly transferred specifically to AMF and decomposer fungi, indicating their consistent key role in the cycling of recent plant derived C.

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Impacts of invasive alien plants on land degradation and sustainable ecosystem restoration

10.22541/au.162141501.13673366/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Prabhat Rai

Keyword(s):

Land Degradation ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Ecosystem Restoration ◽

Alien Plants ◽

Ecological Knowledge ◽

Land Resources ◽

Invasive Alien Plants ◽

Degraded Lands ◽

Ecosystem Degradation ◽

Plant Soil

Land resources are finite, comprised with biophysical complexities (biodiversity, soil, and water resources), vital in sustenance of life. However, multiple anthropogenic disturbances transmogrified the global landscapes with spread of invasive alien plants (IAPs), and perturbed the land-biophysical components, thereby triggering the ecosystem degradation. Nevertheless, the interrelationship of IAPs with land degradation and sustainable restoration is not well established. Furthermore, the restoration challenges of IAPs driven land degradation is also exacerbated under the event of climate change. In this review, the adverse impacts of IAPs on biophysical components of land resources are discussed to explicitly assess the drivers of ecosystem degradation. Restoration efforts of degraded lands should be therefore targeted to revitalize the associated biophysical complexities. Further, the explicit study on the effects of IAPs on plant-soil and plant-soil microbe interactions need to be at the heart of sustainable land or ecosystem restoration strategies. Several studies refused the blanket condemnation of IAPs in ecosystem restoration, ascribed to co-benefits (bioenergy, phytoremediation, biopolymers, and ethnomedicines), inextricably linked with the coverage of financial incentives. Nevertheless, the use of IAPs in ecological restoration needs pragmatic evaluation in terms of long-term ecosystem effects. To this end, the incorporation of ‘hybrid technology’, integrating scientific information with traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), can be the founding principle of sustainable ecosystem restoration and rural livelihood. Importantly, holistic approach in restoration of degraded lands in concert with ‘circular economy’ can remarkably influence in achieving the target of UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) and UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (UN-DER) (2021-30).

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