Soil carbon and plant richness relationships differ among grassland types, disturbance history and plant functional groups.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the relationship of soil carbon storage and species diversity in grasslands can provide insights into managing these ecosystems. We studied relationships among soil C and plant species richness within ~ 9700 ha of grasslands in Colorado, US. Using 141 grassland transects, we tested how soil C was related to plant species richness, grassland type, soil texture, and prairie dog presence. Soil C was significantly, positively related to plant species richness, while native perennial graminoid species richness exhibited an even stronger positive relationship. However, the relationship of soil C and plant richness was not found in all three grassland types studied, but instead was unique to the most common grassland type, mixed grass prairie, and absent from both xeric tallgrass an

SUBMITTER: Anacker BL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8367897 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature