Plant diversity enhanced soil fungal diversity and microbial resistance to plant invasion

Interactions and feedbacks between aboveground and belowground biomes are fundamental in controlling ecosystem functions and stability. However, the relationship between plant diversity and soil microbial diversity is elusive. Moreover, it remains unknown whether plant diversity loss will deteriorate the stability of soil microbial communities. To shed light on these questions, we conducted a pot-based experiment to manipulate the plant richness gradient (1, 2, 4, 8 species) and plant (Symphyotrichum subulatum (Michx.) G.L.Nesom) invasion status. We found that, in the non-invasion treatment, soil fungal diversity significantly and positively correlated with plant diversity, while the relationship between bacterial and plant diversity was not significant. Under plant invasion, the coupling of plant-fungal alpha diversity relationship was enhanced, but the plant-fungal beta diversity relationship was decoupled. We also found significant positive relationships between plant diversity and soil microbial resistance. The observed positive relationships were determined by turnover (species substitution) and nestedness (species loss) processes for bacterial and fungal communities, respectively. Our study demonstrated that plant diversity enhanced soil fungal diversity and microbial resistance in response to plant invasion. This study expands our knowledge about the aboveground–belowground diversity relationship and diversity-stability relationship. Importance Our study newly showed plant invasion significantly altered relationships between aboveground and belowground diversity. Specifically, plant richness indirectly promoted soil fungal richness through the increase of soil TC without plant invasion, while plant richness had a direct positive effect on soil fungal richness under plant invasion. Our study highlights the plant diversity effect on soil fungal diversity especially under plant invasion, and the plant diversity effect on microbial resistance in response to plant invasion. These novel findings will add important knowledge about the aboveground–belowground diversity relationship and diversity-stability relationship.

Download Full-text

Soil fungal diversity in natural grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau: associations with plant diversity and productivity

New Phytologist ◽

10.1111/nph.14606 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 215 (2) ◽

pp. 756-765 ◽

Cited By ~ 80

Author(s):

Teng Yang ◽

Jonathan M. Adams ◽

Yu Shi ◽

Jin-sheng He ◽

Xin Jing ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tibetan Plateau ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Fungal Diversity ◽

The Tibetan Plateau ◽

Natural Grasslands ◽

Soil Fungal Diversity

Download Full-text

Cover Cropping Impacts Soil Microbial Communities and Functions in Mango Orchards

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11040343 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 343

Author(s):

Zhiyuan Wei ◽

Quanchao Zeng ◽

Wenfeng Tan

Keyword(s):

Bacterial Diversity ◽

Fungal Diversity ◽

Soil Microbial Communities ◽

Soil Bacterial Diversity ◽

Mango Fruit ◽

Soil Biodiversity ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Cover Cropping ◽

Soil Bacterial ◽

Soil Fungal Diversity

Soil microbes play critical roles in nutrient cycling, net primary production, food safety, and climate change in terrestrial ecosystems, yet their responses to cover cropping in agroforestry ecosystems remain unknown. Here, we conducted a field experiment to assess how changes in cover cropping with sown grass strips affect the fruit yields and quality, community composition, and diversity of soil microbial taxa in a mango orchard. The results showed that two-year cover cropping increased mango fruit yields and the contents of soluble solids. Cover cropping enhanced soil fungal diversity rather than soil bacterial diversity. Although cover cropping had no significant effects on soil bacterial diversity, it significantly influenced soil bacterial community compositions. These variations in the structures of soil fungal and bacterial communities were largely driven by soil nitrogen, which positively or negatively affected the relative abundance of both bacterial and fungal taxa. Cover cropping also altered fungal guilds, which enhanced the proportion of pathotrophic fungi and decreased saprotrophic fungi. The increase in fungal diversity and alterations in fungal guilds might be the main factors to consider for increasing mango fruit yields and quality. Our results indicate that cover cropping affects mango fruit yields and quality via alterations in soil fungal diversity, which bridges a critical gap in our understanding of the linkages between soil biodiversity and fruit quality in response to cover cropping in orchard ecosystems.

Download Full-text

Climate-smart agriculture: microbiological impacts of plant diversity to soil carbon (C) sequestration.

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-13588 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rashmi Shrestha ◽

Karoliina Huusko ◽

Anna-Reetta Salonen ◽

Jussi Heinonsalo

Keyword(s):

Microbial Activity ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Am Fungi ◽

C Sequestration ◽

Fungal Colonization ◽

Soil C ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Diversity Effect

Soil organic matter (SOM) is any material produced by living organisms at various stages of decomposition. SOM enhances soil fertility and quality and influences soil&#8217;s ability to fight against soil-borne diseases. Atmospheric CO2 sequestration into SOM through improved agricultural management practices has been suggested to be a cost effective way to mitigate climate change.The build-up of SOM is largely regulated by soil microbial activity. Soil microbes use most plant-derived C and either produce CO2 or incorporate C into their biomass and after death microbial necromass may contribute to stable SOM. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are one of the root colonizing soil microbes important in nutrient cycling, plant nutrition, growth and composition and maybe soil aggregation. The benefits of microbes including AM fungi should be thus utilized for climate friendly agriculture by magnifying their benefits via better agricultural management.Cover crops use is one of the climate friendly agricultural practices. Cover crops if managed right, can provide several benefits e.g. enhanced soil C sequestration, reduced emissions from fertilizer production, weed suppression, better soil moisture retention and microbial activity. Moreover, use of diverse cover crops may favor higher soil biodiversity leading to high SOM content. In this project, plant diversity impacts on soil and root fungal community composition and microbial activity related to soil C sequestration were studied in a field experiment. In addition, special attention was given to AM fungi.The field experiment was started in May, 2019 in Viikki Research farm, University of Helsinki. The experiment consists of seven treatments comparing four different levels of biodiversity to conventional monoculture treatments and bare fallow. Eight different species of cover crops representing four functional traits were sown under barley: 1) nitrogen (N2)-fixing + shallow rooting , 2) deep rooting, 3) N2-fixing +deep rooting and 4) no N2-fixing and shallow rooting. Barley and cover crop root samples and soil samples were collected from two growing seasons 2019 and 2020. Root samples were analyzed for AM fungal colonization %. Soil samples were analyzed for soil microbial biomass and microbial respiration in different seasons. Preliminary results showed no significant cover crop diversity effect on AM fungal colonization % in barley root in 2019. Soil microbial biomass and soil microbial respiration showed seasonal variations but not significant cover crop diversity effect. Therefore, fungal communities in soil and root will be examined using Illumina (MiSeq) sequencing targeting the fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. Soil enzyme activities and carbon use efficiency will be performed to gain insight into microbial activity. Obtained results will show if microbial community and activity is affected by either plant family composition or plant diversity.

Download Full-text

Relationship between Soil Properties and Plant Diversity in Semiarid Grassland

Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology ◽

10.24925/turjaf.v5i7.800-806.1209 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 (7) ◽

pp. 800 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Melda Dölarslan ◽

Ebru Gül ◽

Sabit Erşahin

Keyword(s):

Soil Properties ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Diversity Index ◽

Vegetation Period ◽

Parent Material ◽

Central Anatolia ◽

Soil Reaction ◽

Semiarid Grassland ◽

Plant Richness ◽

The Relationship

In ecological studies, soil-plant interaction is an important environmental factor. Soil chemical and physical properties affect plant richness and diversity. This study was carried out to investigate the relationship between soil physical and chemical properties, and plant diversity indexes (Shannon-Weiner and Simpson) in semiarid grassland. Plant diversity indexes and soil properties were determined using 34 quadrats (5x5m) on different parent materials (chrome, marble, serpentine, red chalk and red chalk mostra) in semiarid grasslands in the Central Anatolia Region in Turkey. Plant samples were collected and recorded periodically from April to September (the vegetation period) in 2014 for each quadrat. In order to determine the plant richness and diversity indexes, 3 sub-quadrats (1x1m) were randomly added into each of 34 (5x5 m) quadrats. To evaluate the relationship between plant diversity indexes and soil properties, composite soil samples were collected from the four corners, and the center of each quadrat 0-30 cm in depth, and which was mixing of those subsamples. Soil sand-silt-clay contents, soil reaction (pH), bulk density (BD), electrical conductivity (EC), CaCO3 and soil organic matter (SOM) contents were measured. Relationship between plant diversity indexes measured in different months during vegetation period and soil properties of different parent material was statistically analysed using correlation analysis in SPSS 20.0. Modest correlation coefficient was found between the Simpson diversity index and SOM content, sand-silt-clay content, pH and EC for different months in vegetation period.

Download Full-text

Testing relationship between plant productivity and diversity in a desertified steppe in Northwest China

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.7239 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. e7239

Author(s):

Yang Yang ◽

Bingru Liu

Keyword(s):

Microbial Biomass ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Soil Microbial Biomass ◽

Plant Productivity ◽

Northwestern China ◽

Soil Factors ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Ground Biomass ◽

The Relationship ◽

Desertified Steppe

The rapid global plant diversity and productivity loss has resulted in ecosystem functional degeneration in recent decades, and the relationship between plant diversity and productivity is a pressing issue around the world. Here, we sampled six plant communities that have not been grazed for 20 years, i.e., Agropyron mongolicum, Stipa bungeana, Cynanchum komarovii, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Sophora alopecuroides, Artemisia ordosica, located in a desertified steppe, northwestern China, and tested the relationship between plant diversity and productivity in this region. We found a positive linear relationship between AGB (above-ground biomass) and BGB (below-ground biomass), and the curves between plant diversity and AGB were unimodal (R2 = 0.4572, p < 0.05), indicating that plant productivity increased at a low level of diversity but decreased at a high level of diversity. However, there was no significant relationship between BGB and plant diversity (p > 0.05). Further, RDA (redundancy analysis) indicated that soil factors had a strong effect on plant diversity and productivity. Totally, GAMs (generalized additive models) showed that soil factors (especially total nitrogen TN, total carbon TC, soil microbial biomass nitrogen SMB-N, soil microbial biomass carbon SMB-C) explained more variation in plant diversity and productivity (78.24%), which can be regarded as the key factors driving plant diversity and productivity. Therefore, strategies aiming to increase plant productivity and protect plant diversity may concentrate on promoting soil factors (e.g., increasing TC, TN, SMB-N and SMB-C) and plant species, which can be regarded as an effective and simple strategy to stabilize ecosystems to mitigate aridity in desertified steppes in northwestern China.

Download Full-text