Changes in belowground biodiversity during ecosystem development

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
By: , and 

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Abstract

We do not know how and why belowground biodiversity may change as soils develop over centuries to millennia, hampering our ability to predict the myriad of ecosystem processes regulated by belowground organisms under changing environments. We conducted a global survey of 16 soil chronosequences spanning a wide range of ecosystem types and found that in less productive ecosystems, increases in belowground biodiversity followed increases in plant cover, but in more productive ecosystems, acidification during soil development was often associated with declines in belowground biodiversity. The biodiversity of multiple soil organisms exhibited similar patterns over time, but in contrast to expectations, changes in plant diversity were not associated with corresponding changes in belowground biodiversity.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Changes in belowground biodiversity during ecosystem development
Series title Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
DOI 10.1073/pnas.1818400116
Volume 116
Issue 14
Year Published 2019
Language English
Publisher National Academy of Sciences
Contributing office(s) Southwest Biological Science Center
Description 6 p.
First page 6891
Last page 6896
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