Environmental conditions influence the plant functional diversity effect on potential denitrification.

Ariana E Sutton-Grier,Curtis Richardson,Justin P Wright,Bonnie M Mcgill,Jack Gilbert

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0016584

Ariana E Sutton-Grier, Curtis Richardson + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0016584

Copy DOI

Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Feb 2, 2011
Citations: 74	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Duke University

Abstract

Global biodiversity loss has prompted research on the relationship between species diversity and ecosystem functioning. Few studies have examined how plant diversity impacts belowground processes; even fewer have examined how varying resource levels can influence the effect of plant diversity on microbial activity. In a field experiment in a restored wetland, we examined the role of plant trait diversity (or functional diversity, (FD)) and its interactions with natural levels of variability of soil properties, on a microbial process, denitrification potential (DNP). We demonstrated that FD significantly affected microbial DNP through its interactions with soil conditions; increasing FD led to increased DNP but mainly at higher levels of soil resources. Our results suggest that the effect of species diversity on ecosystem functioning may depend on environmental factors such as resource availability. Future biodiversity experiments should examine how natural levels of environmental variability impact the importance of biodiversity to ecosystem functioning.

Highlights

The loss of biodiversity due to human actions is a growing global concern [1,2,3]
In this study we explicitly examined the interaction between natural levels of variability in soil resources and plant functional diversity on a microbially-mediated ecosystem function, denitrification, in a restored riparian wetland
Based on the visualization of these significant interactions with the coplots, it appears that there was a positive relationship between denitrification potential (DNP) and FD at higher levels of soil moisture, organic matter, and microbial biomass N (Figs. 2A, 2B and 3A)

Summary

Introduction

Many studies have demonstrated that biodiversity affects the stability and functioning of ecosystems (see reviews in 4,5). Few biodiversity studies have considered how plant biodiversity impacts belowground processes and microbial communities. There is a growing interest and need to determine the extent to which plant diversity might indirectly affect other ecosystem functions that are carried out by microbial communities [9,10]. Microbial communities are structured by multiple environmental conditions, some of which are directly or indirectly altered by plants via their functional traits. Understanding the feedbacks between biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and environmental factors is critical for understanding and predicting how changes in biodiversity will impact ecosystem processes [12]

Methods

Results

Conclusion