Plant and soil biodiversity have non-substitutable stabilizing effects on biomass production

The stability of plant biomass production in the face of environmental change is fundamental for maintaining terrestrial ecosystem functioning, as plant biomass is the ultimate source of energy for nearly all life forms. However, most studies have focused on the stabilizing effect of plant diversity, neglecting the effect of soil biodiversity, the largest reservoirs of biodiversity on Earth. Here we investigated the effects of plant and soil biodiversity on the temporal stability of biomass production under varying simulated precipitation in grassland microcosms. Soil biodiversity loss reduced temporal stability by suppressing asynchronous responses of plant functional groups. Greater plant diversity, especially in terms of functional diversity, promoted temporal stability, but this effect was independent of soil biodiversity loss. Moreover, multitrophic biodiversity, plant and soil biodiversity combined, was positively associated with temporal stability. Our study highlights the importance of maintaining the biodiversity of multiple trophic levels for sustainable biomass production.

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Effects of plant diversity on plant biomass production and soil macrofauna in Amazonian pastures

Pedobiologia ◽

10.1016/j.pedobi.2007.11.001 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 51 (5-6) ◽

pp. 397-407 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Kam-Rigne Laossi ◽

Sébastien Barot ◽

Deurival Carvalho ◽

Thierry Desjardins ◽

Patrick Lavelle ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biomass Production ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Plant Biomass ◽

Soil Macrofauna ◽

Plant Biomass Production

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Rhizosphere bacterial community composition depends on plant diversity legacy in soil and plant species identity

10.1101/287235 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Marc W. Schmid ◽

Terhi Hahl ◽

Sofia J. van Moorsel ◽

Cameron Wagg ◽

Gerlinde B. De Deyn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Community Composition ◽

Plant Species ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Bacterial Communities ◽

Biodiversity Loss ◽

Plant Species Diversity ◽

Species Identity ◽

Soil Biodiversity

AbstractSoil microbes are known to be involved in a number of essential ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling, plant productivity and the maintenance of plant species diversity. However, how plant species diversity and identity affect soil microbial diversity and community composition is largely unknown. We tested whether, over the course of 11 years, distinct soil bacterial communities developed under plant monocultures and mixtures, and if over this timeframe plants with a monoculture or mixture history changed in the microbial communities they associated with. For eight species, we grew offspring of plants that had been grown for 11 years in the same monocultures or mixtures (monoculture- or mixture-type plants) in pots inoculated with microbes extracted from the monoculture and mixture soils. After five months of growth in the glasshouse, we collected rhizosphere soil from each plant and used 16S-rRNA gene sequencing to determine the community composition and diversity of the bacterial communities. Microbial community structure in the plant rhizosphere was primarily determined by soil legacy (monoculture vs. mixture soil) and by plant species identity, but not by plant legacy (monoculture- vs. mixture-type plants). In seven out of the eight plant species bacterial abundance was larger when inoculated with microbes from mixture soil. We conclude that plant diversity can strongly affect belowground community composition and diversity, feeding back to the assemblage of rhizosphere microbial communities in newly establishing plants. Thereby our work demonstrates that concerns for plant biodiversity loss are also concerns for soil biodiversity loss.

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A comparison of biodiversity–ecosystem function relationships in alpine grasslands across a degradation gradient on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

The Rangeland Journal ◽

10.1071/rj14081 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 37 (1) ◽

pp. 45 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Xuexia Wang ◽

Shikui Dong ◽

Ruth Sherman ◽

Quanru Liu ◽

Shiliang Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Tibetan Plateau ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Ecosystem Function ◽

Aboveground Biomass ◽

Soil Loss ◽

Plant Biomass ◽

Plant Functional Groups ◽

Alpine Grasslands ◽

C And N

To examine biodiversity–ecosystem function relationships in alpine grasslands of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, we compared differences in plant species and functional group diversity (sedges, grasses, legumes and non-leguminous forbs) to aboveground biomass, soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools and soil loss in five sites that ranged from healthy to severely degraded grasslands. Plant diversity decreased from 36 species in the healthy grassland to 15 species in the severely degraded grassland, and the plant functional groups changed from predominantly grasses and sedges to mostly forbs as the level of degradation increased. Plant biomass and soil pools of C and N decreased whereas soil loss and the amount of bare ground increased across the degradation gradient from healthy to severely degraded grasslands. Simple linear regressions showed strong positive relationships between species diversity and aboveground biomass of sedges, grasses and legumes and between soil C and N pools, but negative relationships between species diversity and non-leguminous forbs and soil loss. Our results provide strong evidence that plant diversity in grasslands on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is positively related to primary productivity, C and N storage in soils and soil conservation, and that grassland degradation is impairing ecosystem function resulting in a loss in ecosystem services.

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Trophic downgrading decreases species asynchrony and community stability regardless of climate warming

10.22541/au.161640251.19086618/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Felipe Rezende ◽

Pablo Antiqueira ◽

Owen Petchey ◽

Luiz Velho ◽

Luzia Rodrigues ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Warming ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Temporal Stability ◽

Biodiversity Loss ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Community Stability ◽

Top Predator ◽

Top Predators ◽

Consequent Reduction ◽

Current Scenario

Theory and some evidence suggest that biodiversity promotes stability. However, evidence of how trophic interactions and environmental changes modulate this relationship in multitrophic communities is lacking. Given the current scenario of biodiversity loss and climate changes, where top predators are disproportionately more affected, filling these knowledge gaps is crucial. We simulated climate warming and top predator loss in natural microcosms to investigate their direct and indirect effects on temporal stability of microbial communites. We also investigated the role of underlying stabilizing mechanisms on community stability. Community stability was insensitive to warming, but indirectly decreased due to top predator loss via increased mesopredator abundance and consequent reduction of species asynchrony and stability. The magnitude of destabilizing effects differed among trophic levels, being disproportionally higher at lower trophic levels (e.g. producers). Our study unravels major patterns and causal mechanisms by which trophic downgrading destabilizes large food webs, regardless of climate warming scenarios.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Predators have large effects on ecosystem properties by changing plant diversity, not plant biomass.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.1033531.374653 ◽

2006 ◽

Author(s):

Robert Paine

Keyword(s):

Plant Diversity ◽

Plant Biomass ◽

Ecosystem Properties

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Efficiency of Recycled Biogas Digestates as Phosphorus Fertilizers for Maize

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11060553 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 553

Author(s):

Inga-Mareike Bach ◽

Lisa Essich ◽

Torsten Müller

Keyword(s):

Biomass Production ◽

Plant Biomass ◽

Nutrient Content ◽

Phosphorus Concentration ◽

Available Phosphorus ◽

Phosphorus Fertilizers ◽

Future Supply ◽

Application Techniques ◽

Phosphorus Recycling ◽

Fertilizing Effect

Despite phosphorus resources on Earth being limited, over fertilization in many agricultural situations causes significant resource consumption. Phosphorus-recycling within agricultural production can reduce global dilution into the environment and is thus essential to secure sustainable future supply. This study investigated the fertilization efficacy of phosphorus fertilizers recycled from biogas digestates in maize shoots grown under controlled greenhouse conditions, in two soils, in a pot experiment. Variables investigated were plant-available phosphorus in soil, plant biomass production, and concentration of phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium in shoots. Soils were treated with three different fertilizer fractions, separated from biogas digestates, at equivalent phosphorus concentrations, using different combinations and application techniques, isolated or in combination, and compared to triple superphosphate (TSP) as a reference. One of the fractions (P-Salt) had effects on biomass production and plant phosphorus concentration equivalent to TSP in agricultural surface soil. In the second soil (with less active soil life and nutrient content), equivalence to TSP was achieved with combinations of two recycled fractions (P-Salt and dried solids). The enhancement of the phosphorus fertilizing effect by the solids was synergistic, indicating that the solids had a soil conditioning effect. The results show that biogas digestates are a valuable source for phosphorus recycling of fractions that have equivalent or even superior fertilizing properties compared to TSP.

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Improvement of Soil Microbial Diversity through Sustainable Agricultural Practices and Its Evaluation by -Omics Approaches: A Perspective for the Environment, Food Quality and Human Safety

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms9071400 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 1400

Author(s):

Marta Bertola ◽

Andrea Ferrarini ◽

Giovanna Visioli

Keyword(s):

Microbial Diversity ◽

Food Quality ◽

Plant Biomass ◽

Soil Microbial Communities ◽

Well Being ◽

Plant Health ◽

Soil Microbiome ◽

Soil Microbial Diversity ◽

Soil Biodiversity ◽

Soil Microbial

Soil is one of the key elements for supporting life on Earth. It delivers multiple ecosystem services, which are provided by soil processes and functions performed by soil biodiversity. In particular, soil microbiome is one of the fundamental components in the sustainment of plant biomass production and plant health. Both targeted and untargeted management of soil microbial communities appear to be promising in the sustainable improvement of food crop yield, its nutritional quality and safety. –Omics approaches, which allow the assessment of microbial phylogenetic diversity and functional information, have increasingly been used in recent years to study changes in soil microbial diversity caused by agronomic practices and environmental factors. The application of these high-throughput technologies to the study of soil microbial diversity, plant health and the quality of derived raw materials will help strengthen the link between soil well-being, food quality, food safety and human health.

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Mangrove diversity enhances plant biomass production and carbon storage in Hainan island, China

Functional Ecology ◽

10.1111/1365-2435.13753 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 35 (3) ◽

pp. 774-786

Author(s):

Jiankun Bai ◽

Yuchen Meng ◽

Ruikun Gou ◽

Jiacheng Lyu ◽

Zheng Dai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Storage ◽

Biomass Production ◽

Plant Biomass ◽

Hainan Island ◽

Plant Biomass Production

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Can repeated soil amendment with biogas digestates increase soil suppressiveness toward non-specific soil-borne pathogens in agricultural lands?

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1017/s1742170520000393 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

L. M. Manici ◽

F. Caputo ◽

G. A. Cappelli ◽

E. Ceotto

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Biomass Production ◽

Soil Amendment ◽

Plant Biomass ◽

Amended Soils ◽

Soil Suppressiveness ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Soil Borne Pathogens ◽

The Impact ◽

Plant Biomass Production

Abstract Soil suppressiveness which is the natural ability of soil to support optimal plant growth and health is the resultant of multiple soil microbial components; which implies many difficulties when estimating this soil condition. Microbial benefits for plant health from repeated digestate applications were assessed in three experimental sites surrounding anaerobic biogas plants in an intensively cultivated area of northern Italy. A 2-yr trial was performed in 2017 and 2018 by performing an in-pot plant growth assay, using soil samples taken from two fields for each experimental site, of which one had been repeatedly amended with anaerobic biogas digestate and the other had not. These fields were similar in management and crop sequences (maize was the recurrent crop) for the last 10 yr. Plant growth response in the bioassay was expressed as plant biomass production, root colonization frequency by soil-borne fungi were estimated to evaluate the impact of soil-borne pathogens on plant growth, abundance of Pseudomonas and actinomycetes populations in rhizosphere were estimated as beneficial soil microbial indicators. Repeated soil amendment with digestate increased significantly soil capacity to support plant biomass production as compared to unamended control in both the years. Findings supported evidence that this increase was principally attributable to a higher natural ability of digestate-amended soils to reduce root infection by saprophytic soil-borne pathogens whose inoculum was increased by the recurrent maize cultivation. Pseudomonas and actinomycetes were always more abundant in digestate-amended soils suggesting that both these large bacterial groups were involved in the increase of their natural capacity to control soil-borne pathogens (soil suppressiveness).

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