Soil Ecosystem Services Research Articles

Evaluating the Impact of Long-Term Land Use Change and Age since Disturbance on Soil Faunal Diversity

Soil organisms are the biological drivers of processes and functions that maintain soil properties and ecosystem services. Soil fauna contribute to nutrient turnover, decomposition and other important biogeochemical processes. This investigation assessed the diversity and abundance of soil arthropods (0.1–4 mm) along a chronosequence of land use types covering a relatively small geographical distance but with the same underlying soil type and climatic conditions. The compared habitats and the approximate ages since anthropogenic disturbance were ancient woodland (>200 y), old woodland (<200 y), unimproved semi-natural grassland (>50 y), willow/poplar coppice (>30 y), unimproved permanent pasture (<20 y), improved permanent pasture (<10 y), and recently grazed and reseeded grassland (>2 y), and the soil types of all habitats were the same within a 5 km radius. Land use type and age since anthropogenic disturbance significantly (p < 0.05) influenced the community composition of soil fauna, with richer arthropod communities found in woodlands compared with recently managed grassland. This study has confirmed a significant effect of land use type and age since disturbance on soil faunal diversity and community structure.

Tropical range grasses can sustain soil functions despite nutrient depletion in semiarid degraded land

Soil function encompasses numerous functions and services the soil provides and can be measured using physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. In any event, research on fertility and biological activity is increasingly being stressed as indices of ecosystem services. Rangeland degradation is one of the world's most widespread land use changes, with serious consequences for soil processes and ecosystem services. The influence of uncontrolled grass cover on soil functioning in semiarid environments is little understood. In the current study, the following seven varieties of grass coverings were studied in a semiarid area of central India: Cenchrus ciliaris (CC), Megathyrsus maximus (MM), Chrysopogon fulvus (CF), Heteropogon contortus (HC), Sehima nervosum (SN), Vetiveria zizanioides (VZ), and Tri-Specific Hybrid (TSH). The carbon accumulation proficiency of TSH, MM, and HC was ~2.23, 2.17, and 2.07 times greater than fallow. The nutrient cycling capacity of grasses was ~1.1 to 1.6 times greater than that of fallow, despite the grasses' depleted macronutrients in the soil. The biological activity under MM and HC was ~1.23 and 1.67 times higher than fallow. Overall soil functionality under TSH and HC was 83 and 25% greater than MM, respectively. These soil functions augment ecosystem services like climate regulation, biomass production, nutrient recycling, water, and airflow. However, more attention should be paid to the management of inputs for greater ecosystem services from this grass cover in semiarid, degraded land.

Economics of Cover Crops

AbstractWhile a comprehensive economic analysis of cover crops accounting for all soil ecosystem services from cover crops is lacking, the available studies indicate that cover crops have potential to provide positive net returns if biomass production is sufficient. Among the opportunities to generate positive economic outcomes from cover crops include grazing and harvesting cover crops, savings on herbicides and fertilizers, carbon credits, and monetization of soil ecosystem services. Earn 1.5 CEUs in Crop Management by reading this article and taking the quiz at https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning‐Center/Courses.

Forty years of soil research funded by the European Commission: Trends and future. A systematic review of research projects

AbstractThe European Green Deal with its high ambition has set the European Union (EU) on a promising path towards greater soil protection. The EU Soil Strategy 2030, the Biodiversity Strategy 2030, the Farm to Fork Strategy, the Zero Pollution, the Nature Restoration Law and the European Climate Law, among others, include actions to protect our soils. Research and Innovation (R&I) will play a key role in developing new knowledge and tools enabling the transition to healthy soils. The main aim of this paper is to analyse past and near‐future trends in EU's funding for R&I on soil‐related issues. For this purpose, a review of EU‐funded soil projects was conducted based on the data available in the Community Research and Development Information Service and the official portal for European data. Our analysis shows that over the past 40 years, the EU has invested significantly in developing integrated knowledge about the relationships between soil functions and ecosystem services and how human‐induced pressures affect soil health. Following the adoption of the EU Soil Thematic Strategy in 2006, there was an increase in research funding for soil‐related research. Furthermore, our analysis also illustrates an interesting interplay of permanent and changing soil themes. The Horizon Europe Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’, which aims to establish a network of 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils and safeguard human and planetary health by 2030, provides a further incentive for soil research. Together with the EU Soil Strategy 2030 and the new proposal for a Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience (Soil Monitoring Law), and the EU Soil Observatory (EUSO), the three instruments set up the political framework, concrete measures, and a monitoring system needed for the protection, restoration and sustainable use of soils.

THE MAIN DIRECTIONS OF DEVELOPMENT OF ECOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF LANDS IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

On the basis of testing various varieties of ecological and economic assessment of lands on the territory of the Russian Plain, their systematization was carried out both from the standpoint of the ratio of profi t and loss associated with nature management, and the attribution of these varieties to the areas of economic science that diff erently determine the role of human economic activity in ecological systems.Th e predominance in the Russian Federation of those techniques and methods of ecological and economic assess-ment, which are associated with the defi nition of damage/ harm from pollution, degradation and cluttering of land plots, is shown. Th e results of the approbation of the «Methodology for determining the extent of damage from soil and land degradation» (1994) for agricultural farms located in various regions of the Russian Federation — in the Volgograd, Belgorod, Kaliningrad and Penza regions are presented. It has been established that the damage caused to agricultural lands in all the studied regions is due to the low level of agrotechnical measures carried out here — mainly insuffi cient application of organic and mineral fertilizers, liming of acidic soils (for example, in the Kaliningrad region) and gypsum of saline soils (in the Volgograd region).Methods where the comparison of income and losses is carried out (methodology Y. von Braun, adjusting the value of land based on information about their ecological condition), are the most diffi cult to implement, but the most promising from a practical point of view. Th e results of the adjustment of the cadastral value of the lands of the West-ern Administrative District of Moscow based on the calculation of the indicator of loss of ecological quality of soils are presented. In some cases, the decrease in the cadastral value of land plots was 71% compared to the initial value.It has been established that the assessment of environmental damage refers to the direction of «environmental economics», the assessment of ecosystem services of soils and lands, the adjustment of the value of land based on information about their ecological condition, the assessment of environmental tax/environmental payments, — to the direction of «ecological economics», the methodology of J. von Braun and the assessment of environmental risks of pollution, degradation and littering of land — towards the direction of «green economics».

The accuracy of soil information influences assessment of soil ecosystem services in Brittany, France

Soil is natural capital that provides several ecosystem services that contribute to human well-being and sustainable socioeconomic development. The scarcity of soil information constitutes the main shortcomings for assessing soil ecosystem services (SESs). The aim of this study was to assess effects of the accuracy of soil information on estimates of SES in agricultural systems using a modeling approach. To this end, three soil datasets that differed in accuracy were used: (i) legacy maps of soil properties, (ii) maps of disaggregated soil properties at 50 m spatial resolution and (iii) field observations (reference soil database). The supply of two regulating SESs (climate regulation and water quality regulation) and four provisioning SES (nitrogen (N)-to-plant provision, water to plant provision, plant biomass provision and groundwater recharge) over 30 years was estimated from daily outputs of 7437 simulations of the STICS soil-crop model. The main results showed that i) estimated SES supply, particularly of climate regulation and N-to-plant provision, depended on both inherent and manageable soil properties and was marginally sensitive to the accuracy of soil information, ii) using disaggregated soil maps marginally increased the accuracy of soil property predictions and thus partially compensated for the lack of soil information when assessing SESs over large areas, and iii) relationships among SESs (i.e. correlation coefficients) generally remained the same regardless of the soil dataset used. The results demonstrated that considering the accuracy of soil information in SES assessment approaches deserves more research.

A pedo‐climatic approach towards soil health assessment: Soil texture‐specific scoring curves on arable land in Norway

AbstractSoil health assessments that integrate physical, chemical and biological indicators help the evaluation of soil functioning, provide a framework for monitoring soil degradation, guide land management activities and secure the delivery of soil ecosystem services. In this study, we assessed soil health by soil texture class on arable land in Southeast Norway and mid‐Norway and between grassland and arable land in mid‐Norway. We used descriptive statistics and the Welch t‐test with unequal variance and Bonferroni corrections to compare a physical soil indicator (bulk density) and chemical indicators (organic matter, P‐AL, K‐AL, Ca‐AL, Mg‐AL, Na‐AL and pH). We developed scoring curves from cumulative normal distribution functions on regional soil data for various soil indicators where climate, soil texture class and land use were considered. Our results show that for certain soil texture classes, average soil indicator values differed between pedo‐climatic zones on arable land, but for others the difference was not significant. The variability between the pedo‐climatic zones for these can be neglected, but for the ones that differ, the variability is important to consider when assessing soil health. Similarly, this was the case when comparing land use (grassland and arable land) for most soil indicators in mid‐Norway. This finding illustrates the importance of addressing unique local conditions in soil health assessments. We propose aggregating similar soil texture classes where no differences are apparent when developing scoring curves. The sub‐optimal levels of plant available nutrients (P‐AL and K‐AL) found in the soil in both pedo‐climatic zones highlights the importance of suitable threshold values for targeted soil ecosystem services to ensure soil health and sustainable agricultural production. We also recommend prioritizing the most relevant soil ecosystem services to limit the number of soil indicators that need monitoring.

Grassland management effect on ecosystem services in the livestock system in an oxisol from the Eastern high plains of Colombia

Colombia has a livestock population of approximately 28.2 million heads, of which 20.4% is found in the eastern high plains of the Orinoquia region. The extensive beef cattle system predominates, whose diet is based on native and introduced pastures of the genus Urochloa sp. which is deficiently managed, affecting productive and reproductive indexes due to the low adoption of technology. We evaluated potential sustainable intensive systems for cattle production, which contribute to maintaining the provision of environmental services. Between 2011 and 2015 in Agrosavia’s Research Center at Carimagua (4° 37'N and 71° 19' W) environmental and animal production variables were monitored in the following systems: a) degraded pastures recovered with tillage and fertilization, b) annual crop rotation with pastures, c) forest arrangements in strips, and d) forest remnants in perimeter areas. Productive and reproductive variables were determined in animals such as weight gain, calving interval, among others while the pasture/crop productive variables included yield and forage quality. Regarding soil ecosystem services (ES) the macrofauna biodiversity, biogeochemical cycles, soil physical and chemical variables were considered. Estimation of indicators was carried out through principal components analysis for soil physical, chemical and macrofauna variables to extract the two main components that explain the variance. For climate regulation of ES, measurement of soil organic carbon (SOC) storage at a depth of 20 cm and the annual accumulated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were included. The systems that involved lime amendments and fertilizers increased the value in the year of application. Values in the water regulation indicator did not show significant differences among the options implemented during the years. Edaphic macrofauna biodiversity indicator value was sensitive to changes in management practices, with termites being the group with highest abundance. The indicator related to SOC was higher in the forest area compared to the pasture-crop system. Systems under the agroforestry schemes which integrated various practices such as managed and recovered pastures, crop-pasture rotation, patched areas and tree strips contributed to maintain or improve the ES, although each one of the strategies proposed provided improvement in at leas one ES.

Soil dielectric permittivity modelling for 50 MHz instrumentation

Near surface electromagnetic geophysical techniques are proven tools to support soil ecosystem services and soil exploration. Such geophysical techniques provide electromagnetic properties that are useful to characterize the studied soil. The link between relevant soil characteristics and geophysical properties, such as dielectric permittivity (ε), is commonly expressed by pedophysical models. However, some weaknesses remain in their application, such as the requirement of parameters that are difficult to measure or calculate. Therefore, these parameters are frequently fixed, but this oversimplifies the complexity of the investigated soils. Moreover, the validity of ε pedophysical models in the frequency range of operating soil moisture sensors (normally < 100 MHz) remains poorly investigated.In this study, the accuracy and adaptability of ε pedophysical models at different electromagnetic frequency ranges was tested and improved using newly collected laboratory and field data. Such data was collected on soils over a wide range of textures, physical and chemical properties.To achieve this, we review the measurement methods and characteristics of ε pedophysical models, soil phases and geometric parameters. Subsequently, we show how geometric parameters can explain the dependance of soil texture on ε by implementing pedotransfer functions. Then, drawing on a broad experimental basis of common soil types in Europe, we develop novel ε pedophysical models at 50 MHz. These models are not only easy to evaluate but also capture most of the soil’s complexity. Additionally, these new ε pedophysical models eliminate the need for calibration data due to the introduction of novel pedotransfer functions based on soil cation exchange capacity. An extensive model test shows an unprecedented decrease in the RMSE of the newly proposed models of up to 412%.In conclusion, despite it is unlikely to characterize soil structure, bulk density, or temperature at 50 MHz, these updated PPMs are useful for highly accurate water content and ε predictions, in both laboratory and field conditions, without the need for calibration data. As the developed modelling procedures are valid for a wide range of electromagnetic frequencies, these can be applied to soil exploration with TDR and GPR instrumentation.For reproducibility, all collected soil data are provided, alongside open-source Python code that contains the presented modelling procedures.

Soil health and ecosystem services

Soil health and ecosystem services

Effects of elevated carbon dioxide (CO2)and ozone (O3)concentrations on ectoenzyme activities in rice rhizospheric soil.

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and ozone (O3) concentrations are the main global change drivers. Soil ectoenzymes play an important role in maintaining soil ecosystem services. Exploring the responses of soil ectoenzymes to elevated CO2 and O3 concentrations is important for combating global climate change. In this study, we simulated elevated CO2 concentrations (+200 μmol·mol-1, eCO2), elevated O3 concentrations (0.04 μmol·mol-1, eO3), and their combination (eCO2+eO3) in open-top chambers (OTCs), and investigated the responses of rhizospheric soil ectoenzyme activities. The results showed that eCO2 significantly increased the β-D-Glucosidase (βG) activity by 73.0%, and decreased that of polyphenol oxidase (PHO), peroxidase (PEO), and acid phosphatase (AP) by 48.9%, 46.6% and 72.9% respectively, but did not affect that of cellulose hydrolase (CBH) and β-N-Acetylglucosaminidase (NAG). eO3 significantly reduced the activities of CBH and AP by 34.2% and 30.4%, respectively. The activities of PHO and AP were reduced by 87.3% and 32.3% under the eCO2+eO3 compared with the control, respectively. Results of the principal coordinate analysis, permutation multivariate analysis of variance and redundancy analysis showed that both elevated CO2 and O3 significantly affected soil ectoenzyme activities, with stronger effects of elevated CO2 than elevated O3. Root nitrogen content, root carbon to nitrogen ratio, soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrate nitrogen were the main drivers of soil ectoenzyme activities under elevated CO2 and O3. Elevated O3 could partially neutralize the effects of elevated CO2 on soil ectoenzyme activities. In conclusion, elevated CO2 and O3 restrained the activities of most soil ectoenzyme, suggesting that climate change would threat soil ecosystem services and functions in the agroecosystem.

Linking Nematode Communities and Soil Health under Climate Change

Soil health is intimately intertwined with ecosystem services. Climate change negatively impacts ecosystem functioning, by altering carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles and shifting nutrient bioavailability, thus hampering food production and exacerbating biodiversity loss. Soil ecosystem services are provided by belowground biota, and as the most abundant metazoans on Earth, nematodes are key elements of soil food webs and reliable bioindicators of soil health. Here, we carry out a literature review from 2019, the year that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published a report relating and expressing serious concerns on the effects of climate change on the land degradation and sustainability of terrestrial ecosystems. We focus on documenting and discussing the composition of nematode communities contributing to improving soil health, and soil management practices to promote their presence and limit the effects of climate change on soils. By recognizing beneficial nematodes as plant-promoting agents, we could harness their potential to our benefit, catalyze decomposition services, improve plant performance, and increase carbon sequestration. This way, we will contribute to soil health and a well-balanced and well-managed system, making it possible to increase productivity, guarantee food security, and reduce the yield gap, with a limited human footprint on the environment.

The effects of different biochar‐dairy manure co‐composts on soil moisture and nutrients retention, greenhouse gas emissions, and tomato productivity: Observations from a soil column experiment

AbstractFinding feasible solutions for sustainable food production is challenging. Here we try to understand the balance between crop productivity and ecological stewardship using agroecological‐based soil management strategies. We evaluated the potential of different organic materials such as dairy manure compost and different biochar manure co‐composts, derived locally from agricultural wastes, to enhance soil ecosystem services. We assessed their potential impact on soil moisture and nutrient retention, greenhouse gas emissions, and crop productivity using data collected from an outdoor tomato column study. Results from the experiment showed potential of biochar co‐composts to positively affect soil health by lessening loss of essential nutrients such as NO3−‐N and NH4+‐N, sustained tomato yield, and uphold crop water use efficiency. However, yield response to soil organic amendment is constrained by external factors such as irrigation strategies, with treatments under deficit irrigation greatly impacted. Overall, we observed a positive effect of adding biochar manure co‐composts to soil, although best management practices are needed to optimize crop productivity and avoid unintentional consequences.

Losing Ground: Targeting Agricultural Land Take by Enabling a Circular Economy in Construction

Among the numerous causes of soil degradation, one of the most severe and difficult to reverse is land take. Land take results in the loss of valuable ecosystem services that negatively impact soil health, especially in agricultural areas. The main drivers of land take are increased provision of housing, schools, hospitals, industrial and commercial sites, transport networks and infrastructures, mines, quarries and waste dumpsites. Globally, the rate and scale of land take is increasing. Given the impact on soil ecosystem services such as the carbon, hydrological and nitrogen cycles, preventing agricultural land take is essential if the triple planetary ecological crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution are to be addressed. Most countries use sustainable management techniques to limit land take by development projects. In this opinion paper, we argue that the circular economy concept could help to establish an alternative perspective on how to understand and address the agricultural land take problem. Law and policy need to foster a systemic transition to a circular economy throughout the entire construction sector’s multiple material life cycles if it is to significantly reduce land take. We use England as a case study to show how the UK government can revise and build on current policy to enable a transition to a more circular construction sector. The case study provides valuable lessons for other countries at a crossroad on land use policy on how fostering a circular construction economy can reduce land take and maintain agricultural soil’s ecological services.

Semi-supervised segmentation of multi-scale soil pores based on a novel receptive field structure

The study of soil pores using computed tomography (CT) technology and deep learning has been proven to be effective. However, conventional neural networks struggle to accurately segment both large connected pores and small scatter pores in soil CT images at different scales. To address this limitation, this paper proposes a semi-supervised multi-scale segmentation method (SMS). The SMS method comprises two parts: 1) Upstream multi-scale pore segmentation branches that generate multi-feature pore segmentation maps based on a novel receptive field structure, and 2) Downstream semi-supervised classification task that selects the optimal pore feature map for output. Experimental results demonstrate that SMS effectively enhances segmentation performance for multi-scale soil pores, achieving the highest accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score values of 99.55 %, 83.76 %, 96.12 %, and 89.35 %, respectively. These results outperform four common deep learning methods and three traditional image processing software. This study represents a significant advancement in high-precision automated segmentation of soil pores, providing valuable image processing support for investigating soil structure characteristics, soil conservation, and soil ecosystem services.

Seasonality and bacterial community assembly processes dominate prairie ecosystem service disruption during invasion

Invasive plants alter soil microbial communities and ecosystem services reducing the Earth's carrying capacity for humans. Many ecosystem services are underpinned by soil microbial communities, and these communities arise from assembly processes that are likely altered by invasion. We evaluated the hypothesis that invasive effects on grassland ecosystem services arise from changes in microbial community assembly processes caused by invasion. We sampled 515 plots at a native Rough Fescue prairie undergoing invasion by nine invasive species of which smooth brome (Bromus inermis) is a dominant member. Each week, for 26 weeks, we monitored invasion effects on vascular plant communities, ecosystem services, as well as bacterial and fungal community structures. Invasive effects on ecosystem services interacted with seasonal (plant green-up, peak biomass, and plant senescence) effects and consistently disrupted ecosystem service provision. Invasion increased heterogenous selection in fungal communities but otherwise had minor effects on assembly process. Only ∼20% of community composition could be ascribed to deterministic filters which hindered our ability to conclusively link invasion to assembly processes. Assembly processes explained changes in ecosystem services with bacterial assembly accounting for 2.5% of food, 4% of climate, 9% of conservation and 5.5% of fertility services. Fungal communities were less consistent in their effects on ecosystem services with only food (3%) and water (4%) services influenced by fungal assembly. After seasonality (27%), bacterial assembly processes (4%) accounted for the largest effect on ecosystem services, overshadowing invasion (2%) and fungal assembly (2%). At this 130-ha site, after seasonal effects, bacterial assembly processes had the largest effect on ecosystem services with plant invasion placing a distant third.

Quantitatively mapping the research status and trends of vegetation responses to climate change with bibliometric analysis

PurposeVegetation is a typical sensitive indicator of climate change, and therefore provides theoretical and valuable information for addressing issues arising from climate change including improving soil ecosystem services. Exploring how vegetation responses to climate change has become one of major hotspots of research. However, few scholars have performed bibliometric analyses of this field. This study investigated the current research activities and the trend developments of vegetation responses to climate change.Materials and methodsWe conducted a quantitative bibliometric analysis of 2,310 publications on vegetation responses to climate change from 1991 to 2021 retrieved in the Web of Science Core Collection. The analysis comprised significant journals, disciplines, and scholars, as well as partnerships between countries and institutions, keyword co-occurrence and burst analysis. The bibliometric analysis tools, Histcite, Vosviewer, CiteSpace software, and R (Bibliometrix package), were applied.Results and discussionThe related publications on vegetation responses to climate change had been increasing exponentially in the past 30 years and its total global cited score reached its peak in 2010. The USA and China were the leading countries, with the Chinese Academy of Sciences having the highest number of publications and citations. The scholars who had the most citations were Allen CD, Bresears DD, and Running SW. Six research clusters were generated by keywords co-occurrence analysis, including impact, response, CO2, growth, climate change, and vegetation. These clusters represented the current research topics that highlighted the responses of vegetation to climate change, the manifestation of its impact, and coping strategies. In future research on vegetation, the emphasis is expected to be placed on “human activities” and “N2O emission”.ConclusionThis study has performed a comprehensive and systematic and quantitative analysis of the publications on the responses of vegetation to climate change. The results reveal the characteristics, development patterns, and research trends of studies on vegetation activity in response to climate change, which sheds new insights into understanding the relationship between soil and climate.

Greening and browning of urban lawns in Geneva (Switzerland) as influenced by soil properties

Urban green spaces with healthy vegetation play a key role in improving the quality of life in cities. However, urban soils, the basis of the urban greenery, are under strong anthropogenic influence and can considerably differ from natural soils. In this study, we observed short-term greening and browning of lawns during one vegetation period in urban parks of Geneva (Switzerland). We related the temporal trajectory of seasonal Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) (8 days median) as a proxy of vegetation condition at different test sites to the physical soil properties (soil depth, coarse material, bulk density, conditioned air and water content) and Soil Organic Carbon (SOC). Strong drops of NDVI during dry periods in summer were related to shallow soil depths (<40 cm) and a high amount of coarse material (>10%) as well as lower SOC. Bulk density of the fine earth and the soil structure quality (expressed by air and water content of soil cores conditioned at a soil water potential of −100 hPa) had a significant influence on grass growth in spring but not in summer. Dense soils with conditioned air content closer to the trigger value of degraded soil structure resulted in lower NDVI values in spring. Our approach of using Earth Observation (EO) data for observing short-term greening and browning patterns, in this case the rise and decline of NDVI values, revealed that the role of the soil properties changed with the season. This approach may contribute to digital soil mapping and the assessment of soil ecosystem services in urban contexts. Urban planners are advised to save natural soils from over-building and keep them for green spaces. If soil has to be restored to create new green spaces, it should be deep and should not contain much coarse material, even for grassy vegetation.

Soil carbon storage and compositional responses of soil microbial communities under perennial grain IWG vs. annual wheat

The introduction of novel perennial grains into annual row crop rotations is proposed to increase soil ecosystem services and enhance plant-soil-microbial linkages because perennials provide deeper root systems and more continuous ground cover than annuals. While soil microbial communities underpin many ecosystem services, we know little about how soil microbial composition and diversity, and soil carbon storage, differ between soils of annual vs. perennial grain crops. We measured soil fungi: bacteria (F/B) ratios and soil carbon within the novel perennial intermediate wheatgrass (IWG; trademarked Kernza®) and tilled annual wheat and compared soil microbial diversity and community composition within their rhizosphere, shallow bulk soil (0–15 cm) and total bulk soil (0–90 cm). After three years, soil depth explained 30–40% and 12–22% of the variance in bacterial and fungal community composition, respectively, while crop type explained 10% and 9–16% of the variance, respectively. Fungal communities were most impacted by crop type in the rhizosphere and shallow bulk soil and less sensitive to differences in soil depth. In contrast, crop type had a smaller effect on bacterial communities which were more influenced by soil depth. IWG trended higher in soil carbon mass at 0–30 cm (p = 0.22) and had a higher (F/B) ratio than tilled annual wheat at depths below 15 cm, but tilled annual wheat had higher soil carbon concentration (p = 0.12) and soil carbon mass (p = 0.09) at the 60–90 cm soil depth. Our results indicate that fungi were more responsive than bacterial communities to crop type and that IWG has a higher fungal biomass and different fungal community composition than annual wheat at depth. However, despite these distinct differences in fungal communities in IWG compared to annual wheat, the differences did not translate into greater soil carbon mass in IWG at depth.

Tree canopy enhances Collembola functional richness and diversity across typical habitats of the Gorongosa National Park (Mozambique)

The role of tree canopies in protecting soil functional diversity is essential for ecosystems threatened by the longer lasting periods of drought, which are predicted to increase in the southern afro-tropical region. Nonetheless, biodiversity inventories of soil mesofauna are scarce in afro-tropical ecosystems, even in emblematic and well-studied protected areas, such as the Gorongosa National Park (GNP). Understanding the interrelationships between tree canopies and soil fauna functional diversity can provide insightful information for future adaptive management to protect wildlife and ecosystem services in the GNP, in the context of climate change. Here we assessed collembolan functional type richness and functional diversity in the dry period and during the rainfall across major GNP habitat types: miombo forests, mixed forests, and open savanna/floodplains. Besides the significant positive influence of rainfall, habitat types also influenced functional type’ richness and diversity of collembolan life-forms. Environmental gradients across habitat types, namely the area of tree canopy cover and its indirect effect on soil local conditions (pH and nutrient availability), explained collembolan functional parameters. Calcium concentrations and soil alkalinity significantly enhanced collembolan functional type richness and functional diversity, respectively. Collembola survival across GNP habitats depended on the canopy buffering in the dry sampling period. These results highlight the key role of tree canopies in creating suitable microhabitat conditions supporting soil functional diversity and the sustainability of soil processes and ecosystem services in GNP.