Dataset Information

How do earthworms, soil texture and plant composition affect infiltration along an experimental plant diversity gradient in grassland?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Infiltration is a key process in determining the water balance, but so far effects of earthworms, soil texture, plant species diversity and their interaction on infiltration capacity have not been studied.

Methodology/principal findings

We measured infiltration capacity in subplots with ambient and reduced earthworm density nested in plots of different plant species (1, 4, and 16 species) and plant functional group richness and composition (1 to 4 groups; legumes, grasses, small herbs, tall herbs). In summer, earthworm presence significantly increased infiltration, whereas in fall effects of grasses and legumes on infiltration were due to plant-mediated changes in earthworm biomass. Effects of grasses and legumes on infiltration even reversed effects of texture. We propose two pathways: (i) direct, probably by modifying the pore spectrum and (ii) indirect, by enhancing or suppressing earthworm biomass, which in turn influenced infiltration capacity due to change in burrowing activity of earthworms.

Conclusions/significance

Overall, the results suggest that spatial and temporal variations in soil hydraulic properties can be explained by biotic processes, especially the presence of certain plant functional groups affecting earthworm biomass, while soil texture had no significant effect. Therefore biotic parameters should be taken into account in hydrological applications.

SUBMITTER: Fischer C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4053431 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

How do earthworms, soil texture and plant composition affect infiltration along an experimental plant diversity gradient in grassland?

Fischer Christine C Roscher Christiane C Jensen Britta B Eisenhauer Nico N Baade Jussi J Attinger Sabine S Scheu Stefan S Weisser Wolfgang W WW Schumacher Jens J Hildebrandt Anke A

PloS one 20140611 2

<h4>Background</h4>Infiltration is a key process in determining the water balance, but so far effects of earthworms, soil texture, plant species diversity and their interaction on infiltration capacity have not been studied.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>We measured infiltration capacity in subplots with ambient and reduced earthworm density nested in plots of different plant species (1, 4, and 16 species) and plant functional group richness and composition (1 to 4 groups; legumes, grass ...[more]

PMID: 24918943

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Project description:The trait-based approach shows that ecosystem function is strongly affected by plant functional diversity as reflected by the traits of the most abundant species (community-weighted mean, CWM) and functional dispersion (FDis). Effects of CWM and FDis individually support the biomass ratio hypothesis and the niche complementarity hypothesis. However, there is little empirical evidence on the relative roles of CWM traits and FDis in explaining the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) storage in grassland ecosystems. We measured plant functional traits in the 34 most abundant species across 24 sites along a restoration gradient of sandy grassland (mobile dune, semi-fixed dune, fixed dune, and grassland) in Horqin Sand Land, northern China. Thereafter, we calculated the CWM traits, the functional divergence of each single trait (FDvar) and the trait dispersion of multiple traits (FDis). We also measured the C and N storage in plant, litter, root, and soil. Using a stepwise multiple regression analysis, we further assessed which of the functional diversity components best explained C and N storage in the sandy grassland restoration. We found consistent links between C or N storage and leaf traits related to plant resource use strategy. However, the CWM of plant height was retained as an important predictor of C and N storage in plant, litter, soil, and total ecosystem in the final multiple models. CWMs of specific leaf area and plant height best predicted soil C and N storage and total ecosystem N storage. FDis was one of good predictors of litter C and N storage as well as total ecosystem C storage. These results suggest that ecosystem C and N pools in the sandy grassland restoration are primarily associated with the traits of the most abundant species in communities, thereby supporting the biomass ratio hypothesis. The positive associations of FDis with C storage in litter and total ecosystem provide evidence to support the niche complementarity hypothesis. Both functional traits of dominant species and traits' dispersion in plant communities could contribute to explaining total ecosystem C storage. Thus, single- and multi-trait indices of functional composition play a crucial role in predicting C storage in sandy grasslands.

Dataset Information

How do earthworms, soil texture and plant composition affect infiltration along an experimental plant diversity gradient in grassland?

Background

Methodology/principal findings

Conclusions/significance

Publications

How do earthworms, soil texture and plant composition affect infiltration along an experimental plant diversity gradient in grassland?

Similar Datasets

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