Atmospheric CO2 enrichment induces life strategy- and species-specific responses of collembolans in the rhizosphere of sugar beet and winter wheat

Abstract

We studied atmospheric CO2 enrichment effects on life form types, species composition, dominance structure and individual density of collembolans under cultivation of sugar beet and winter wheat. The study was part of a long-term CO2 enrichment field experiment (FACE: Free Air CO2 Enrichment) at the Federal Agricultural Research Centre (FAL) in Braunschweig (Germany), using isotopically labelled CO2. The stable C-isotopic signature (δ13C) of collembolan species, plant material, and soil indicated CO2 impacts on C translocation. The δ13C values of both crops significantly increased from above-ground to below-ground plant parts and significantly decreased under FACE conditions. The δ13C values of collembolan species differed significantly depending on CO2 treatment and crop and showed a distinct tendency depending on plant growth stage. The extent, to which δ13C values of collembolans decreased under FACE conditions, was species- and life strategy-dependent. The stable C-isotopic signatures of euedaphic and hemiedaphic species were similar in the control, but, depending on crop, differently affected by atmospheric CO2 enrichment. Under winter wheat cultivation, hemiedaphic species showed more negative δ13C values than euedaphic ones under FACE conditions. CO2 enrichment effects on occurrence, density and dominance distribution of the collembolan species differed strongly between crops and their developmental stages, which reveal crop-specific below-ground effects due to different food qualities in the rhizosphere. CO2 impacts were stronger under sugar beet compared to winter wheat cultivation. Independent of crop, CO2 enrichment enhanced the diversity of collembolans before harvest and increased the proportion of hemiedaphic in relation to euedaphic species in a community. Our results on collembolan communities imply CO2-induced changes in the root-derived carbon resources used by the soil food web. The present study reveals atmospheric CO2 enrichment impacts to specifically affect collembolan species according to their food preferences.