Linking soil properties and nematode community composition: effects of soil management on soil food webs

Nematology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 703-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Sánchez-Moreno ◽  
Hideomi Minoshima ◽  
Howard Ferris ◽  
Louise E. Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Cropping Pattern ◽  
Continuous Cropping ◽  
Soil Food Web ◽  
Soil Food Webs

Abstract The purported benefits of conservation tillage and continuous cropping in agricultural systems include enhancement of soil ecosystem functions to improve nutrient availability to crops and soil C storage. Studies relating soil management to community structure allow the development of bioindicators and the assessment of the consequences of management practices on the soil food web. During one year (December 2003-December 2004), we studied the influence of continuous cropping (CC), intermittent fallow (F), standard tillage (ST) and no tillage (NT) on the nematode assemblage and the soil food web in a legume-vegetable rotation system in California. The most intensive systems included four crops during the study period. Tillage practices and cropping pattern strongly influenced nematode faunal composition, and the soil food web, at different soil depths. Management effects on nematode taxa depended on their position along the coloniser-persister (cp) scale and on their trophic roles. At the last sampling date (December 2004), Mesorhabditis and Acrobeloides were positively associated with NH+4, while Panagrolaimus and Plectus were negatively correlated with certain phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA). Microbial-feeders were in general associated with both bacterial and fungal PLFA, microbial biomass C (MBC) by chloroform fumigation-extraction, total C and N, NH+4 and NO−3, and were most abundant in the surface soil of the NTCC treatment. Fungal-feeders were more closely related to PLFA markers of fungi than to ergosterol, a purported fungal sterol. Discolaimus, Prionchulus, Mylonchulus and Aporcelaimidae, in contrast, were associated with intermittent fallow and deeper soil layers. The organisms in the higher levels of the soil food web did not respond to the continuous input of C in the soil and a long recovery period may be required for appropriate taxa to be reintroduced and to increase. At the end of the experiment, each treatment supported quite different nematode assemblages and soil food webs.

scholarly journals How anthropogenic shifts in plant community composition alter soil food webs

F1000Research ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Kardol ◽  
Jonathan R. De Long
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Plant Community Composition ◽  
Soil Food Web ◽  
Food Web Structure ◽  
Soil Food Webs ◽  
Web Structure

There are great concerns about the impacts of soil biodiversity loss on ecosystem functions and services such as nutrient cycling, food production, and carbon storage. A diverse community of soil organisms that together comprise a complex food web mediates such ecosystem functions and services. Recent advances have shed light on the key drivers of soil food web structure, but a conceptual integration is lacking. Here, we explore how human-induced changes in plant community composition influence soil food webs. We present a framework describing the mechanistic underpinnings of how shifts in plant litter and root traits and microclimatic variables impact on the diversity, structure, and function of the soil food web. We then illustrate our framework by discussing how shifts in plant communities resulting from land-use change, climatic change, and species invasions affect soil food web structure and functioning. We argue that unravelling the mechanistic links between plant community trait composition and soil food webs is essential to understanding the cascading effects of anthropogenic shifts in plant communities on ecosystem functions and services.

scholarly journals Soil Food Web Complexity Enhances the Link Between Soil Biodiversity and Ecosystem Multifunctionality in Agricultural Systems

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuo Jiao ◽  
Yahai Lu ◽  
Gehong Wei
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Significant Advance ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
Soil Food Web ◽  
Element Cycling ◽  
Soil Biodiversity ◽  
Multiple Functions ◽  
Food Web Complexity

Abstract Background: Belowground biodiversity supports multiple ecosystem functions and services that humans rely on. However, there is a dearth of studies conducted on a large spatial scale on the topic in intensely managed agricultural ecosystems. Existing studies have overlooked the fact that the functional diversity in other trophic groups within a food web could influence function of an individual in another trophic group. Here, we report significant and positive relationships between soil biodiversity (archaea, bacteria, fungi, protists, and invertebrates) and multiple ecosystem functions (nutrient provisioning, element cycling, and reduced pathogenicity potential) in 228 agricultural fields. Results: The relationships were influenced by (I) the types of organisms with significant relationships in archaea, bacteria, and fungi and not in protists and invertebrates, and (II) the connectedness of dominant phylotypes across soil food webs, which generate different ecological clusters within soil networks to maintain multiple functions. In addition, we highlight the role of soil food web complexity, reflected by ecological networks comprising diverse organisms, which promote the multiple functions and enhance the link between soil biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Conclusions: Overall, our results represent a significant advance in forecasting the impacts of belowground biodiversity within food webs on ecosystem functions in agricultural systems, and suggest that soil biodiversity, particularly soil food web complexity, should not be overlooked, but rather considered a key factor and integrated into policy and management activities aimed at enhancing and maintaining ecosystem productivity, stability, and sustainability under land-use intensification.

scholarly journals Mesoscale variations in the assemblage structure and trophodynamics of mesozooplankton communities of the Adriatic basin (Mediterranean Sea)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuela Fanelli ◽  
Samuele Menicucci ◽  
Sara Malavolti ◽  
Andrea De Felice ◽  
Iole Leonori
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
Assemblage Structure ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Food Web Structure ◽  
Adriatic Basin

Abstract. Zooplankton are critical to the functioning of ocean food webs because of their utter abundance and vital ecosystem roles. Zooplankton communities are highly diverse and thus perform a variety of ecosystem functions, thus changes in their community or food web structure may provide evidence of ecosystem alteration. Assemblage structure and trophodynamics of mesozooplantkon communities were examined across the Adriatic basin, the northernmost and most productive basin of the Mediterranean Sea. Samples were collected in June–July 2019 along coast-offshore transects covering the whole western Adriatic side, consistently environmental variables were also recorded. Results showed a clear separation between samples from the northern-central Adriatic and the southern ones, with a further segregation, although less clear, of inshore vs. off-shore stations, the latter mostly dominated in the central and southern stations by gelatinous plankton. Such patterns were mainly driven by chlorophyll-a concentration (as a proxy of primary production) for northern-central stations, i.e. closer to the Po river input, and by temperature and salinity, for southern ones, with the DistLM model explaining 46 % of total variance. The analysis of stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon allowed to identify a complex food web characterized by 3 trophic levels from herbivores to carnivores, passing through the mixed feeding behavior of omnivores, shifting from phytoplankton/detritus ingestion to microzooplankton. Trophic structure also spatially varied according to sub-area, with the northern-central sub-areas differing from each other and from the southern stations. Our results highlighted the importance of environmental variables as drivers of zooplanktonic communities and the complex structure of their food webs. Disentangling and considering such complexity is crucial to generate realistic predictions on the functioning of aquatic ecosystems, especially in high productive and, at the same time, overexploited area such as the Adriatic Sea.

scholarly journals On the centrality and uniqueness of species from the network perspective

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 570-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu-Mei Lai ◽  
Wei-Chung Liu ◽  
Ferenc Jordán
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Prince William Sound ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Network Position ◽  
Central Node ◽  
Species Importance

Identifying important species for maintaining ecosystem functions is a challenge in ecology. Since species are components of food webs, one way to conceptualize and quantify species importance is from a network perspective. The importance of a species can be quantified by measuring the centrality of its position in a food web, because a central node may have greater influence on others in the network. A species may also be important because it has a unique network position, such that its loss cannot be easily compensated. Therefore, for a food web to be robust, we hypothesize that central species must be functionally redundant in terms of their network position. In this paper, we test our hypothesis by analysing the Prince William Sound ecosystem. We found that species centrality and uniqueness are negatively correlated, and such an observation is also carried over to other food webs.

scholarly journals Oribatid mites show that soil food web complexity and close aboveground-belowground linkages emerged in the early Paleozoic

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ina Schaefer ◽  
Tancredi Caruso
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Higher Plants ◽  
Early Paleozoic ◽  
Soil Food Web ◽  
Deep Time ◽  
Animal Group ◽  
Soil Microarthropods ◽  
Early Devonian ◽  
Food Web Complexity

Abstract The early evolution of ecosystems in Palaeozoic soils remains poorly understood because the fossil record is sparse, despite the preservation of soil microarthropods already from the Early Devonian (~410 Mya). The soil food web plays a key role in the functioning of ecosystems and its organisms currently express traits that have evolved over 400 my. Here, we conducted a phylogenetic trait analysis of a major soil animal group (Oribatida) to reveal the deep time story of the soil food web. We conclude that this group, central to the trophic structure of the soil food web, diversified in the early Paleozoic and resulted in functionally complex food webs by the late Devonian. The evolution of body size, form, and an astonishing trophic diversity demonstrates that the soil food web was as structured as current food webs already in the Devonian, facilitating the establishment of higher plants in the late Paleozoic.

scholarly journals Statistical analysis and simulation modelling of the belowground food webs of two winter wheat management practices.

1990 ◽  
Vol 38 (3A) ◽  
pp. 303-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.C. Moore ◽  
H.J.C. Zwetsloot ◽  
P.C. de Ruiter
Keyword(s):  
Food Webs ◽  
Functional Groups ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Integrated Management ◽  
Simulation Modelling ◽  
Multivariate Statistical ◽  
Soil Food Webs ◽  
Biomass N

Soil food webs from conventional and integrated management practices at an experimental site (Netherlands) were analysed using multivariate statistical procedures and simulation modelling, so as to identify patterns in species interactions and material transfers. Cluster analysis, canonical discriminant analysis and canonical correspondence analysis of the dynamics of biomass-N of functional groups within the food webs indicated that the webs could be compartmented into functional groups based on food choice and trophic level. The degree of compartmentalization depended on management practice. Consumers of fungi were separated in time from consumers of bacteria under the integrated management practice whereas little separation was observed under conventional practice. Simulation modelling was used to estimate the flux rates of nitrogen among functional groups within the food webs. The modelling demonstrated that more flow occurred in the integrated plot than in the conventional plot. More material flow occurred in the upper 10 cm of the integrated plot than in the 10-25 cm layer, whereas there was no such difference in the conventional plot. The effect may be due to the differences in the tillage practice on each plot. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)

Organic management practices enhance soil food web biomass and complexity under greenhouse conditions

2021 ◽  
Vol 167 ◽  
pp. 104010
Author(s):  
Yufei Li ◽  
Yunfeng Chen ◽  
Ji Li ◽  
Qinping Sun ◽  
Jijin Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Soil Food Web ◽  
Organic Management

scholarly journals Conventional and organic soil management as divergent drivers of resident and active fractions of major soil food web constituents

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Harkes ◽  
Afnan K. A. Suleiman ◽  
Sven J. J. van den Elsen ◽  
Johannes J. de Haan ◽  
Martijn Holterman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Carbon Fixation ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Organic Soil ◽  
Mineral Fertilizers ◽  
Soil Food Web ◽  
Soil Biodiversity ◽  
Bacteria And Fungi ◽  
Active Communities

Abstract Conventional agricultural production systems, typified by large inputs of mineral fertilizers and pesticides, reduce soil biodiversity and may negatively affect ecosystem services such as carbon fixation, nutrient cycling and disease suppressiveness. Organic soil management is thought to contribute to a more diverse and stable soil food web, but data detailing this effect are sparse and fragmented. We set out to map both the resident (rDNA) and the active (rRNA) fractions of bacterial, fungal, protozoan and metazoan communities under various soil management regimes in two distinct soil types with barley as the main crop. Contrasts between resident and active communities explained 22%, 14%, 21% and 25% of the variance within the bacterial, fungal, protozoan, and metazoan communities. As the active fractions of organismal groups define the actual ecological functioning of soils, our findings underline the relevance of characterizing both resident and active pools. All four major organismal groups were affected by soil management (p < 0.01), and most taxa showed both an increased presence and an enlarged activity under the organic regime. Hence, a prolonged organic soil management not only impacts the primary decomposers, bacteria and fungi, but also major representatives of the next trophic level, protists and metazoa.

scholarly journals The soil microbial food web revisited: Predatory myxobacteria as keystone taxa?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Petters ◽  
Verena Groß ◽  
Andrea Söllinger ◽  
Michelle Pichler ◽  
Anne Reinhard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Microbial Food Web ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Ssu Rrna ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Soil Food Webs ◽  
Community Profiling ◽  
Predatory Bacteria ◽  
Mineral Soils

AbstractTrophic interactions are crucial for carbon cycling in food webs. Traditionally, eukaryotic micropredators are considered the major micropredators of bacteria in soils, although bacteria like myxobacteria and Bdellovibrio are also known bacterivores. Until recently, it was impossible to assess the abundance of prokaryotes and eukaryotes in soil food webs simultaneously. Using metatranscriptomic three-domain community profiling we identified pro- and eukaryotic micropredators in 11 European mineral and organic soils from different climes. Myxobacteria comprised 1.5–9.7% of all obtained SSU rRNA transcripts and more than 60% of all identified potential bacterivores in most soils. The name-giving and well-characterized predatory bacteria affiliated with the Myxococcaceae were barely present, while Haliangiaceae and Polyangiaceae dominated. In predation assays, representatives of the latter showed prey spectra as broad as the Myxococcaceae. 18S rRNA transcripts from eukaryotic micropredators, like amoeba and nematodes, were generally less abundant than myxobacterial 16S rRNA transcripts, especially in mineral soils. Although SSU rRNA does not directly reflect organismic abundance, our findings indicate that myxobacteria could be keystone taxa in the soil microbial food web, with potential impact on prokaryotic community composition. Further, they suggest an overlooked, yet ecologically relevant food web module, independent of eukaryotic micropredators and subject to separate environmental and evolutionary pressures.

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