Plant trait-based approaches for interrogating belowground function
28 Apr 2017-Biology and Environment-proceedings of The Royal Irish Academy (Royal Irish Academy)-Iss: 1, pp 1-13
About: This article is published in Biology and Environment-proceedings of The Royal Irish Academy.The article was published on 2017-04-28 and is currently open access. It has received 57 citations till now.
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01 Oct 2021
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the current state of global grasslands and explore the extent and dominant drivers of their degradation, and set out the steps needed to protect these systems and promote their restoration.
Abstract: Grasslands are under severe threat from ongoing degradation, undermining their capacity to support biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being. Yet, grasslands are largely ignored in sustainable development agendas. In this Perspective, we examine the current state of global grasslands and explore the extent and dominant drivers of their degradation. Socio-ecological solutions are needed to combat degradation and promote restoration. Important strategies include: increasing recognition of grasslands in global policy; developing standardized indicators of degradation; using scientific innovation for effective restoration at regional and landscape scales; and enhancing knowledge transfer and data sharing on restoration experiences. Stakeholder needs can be balanced through standardized assessment and shared understanding of the potential ecosystem service trade-offs in degraded and restored grasslands. The integration of these actions into sustainability policy will aid in halting degradation and enhancing restoration success, and protect the socio-economic, cultural and ecological benefits that grasslands provide. Grasslands provide key ecosystem services, but their protection is often ignored in sustainable policy. This Perspective describes grassland degradation and sets out the steps needed to protect these systems and promote their restoration.
223 citations
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne1, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research2, University of British Columbia3, Leiden University4, Wageningen University and Research Centre5, Utah State University6, University of South Australia7, Utrecht University8, University of Zurich9, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences10
TL;DR: A conceptual framework that integrates knowledge and approaches from complex natural systems can be used to increase agricultural resource-use efficiency and productivity is presented and avenues for new research toward an ecologically sustainable and climate-smart future are discussed.
Abstract: In agricultural and natural systems researchers have demonstrated large effects of plant–soil feedback (PSF) on plant growth. However, the concepts and approaches used in these two types of systems have developed, for the most part, independently. Here, we present a conceptual framework that integrates knowledge and approaches from these two contrasting systems. We use this integrated framework to demonstrate (i) how knowledge from complex natural systems can be used to increase agricultural resource-use efficiency and productivity and (ii) how research in agricultural systems can be used to test hypotheses and approaches developed in natural systems. Using this framework, we discuss avenues for new research toward an ecologically sustainable and climate-smart future.
223 citations
TL;DR: It is reported that aboveground plant community attributes, such as diversity and cover, and functional traits can predict a unique portion of the variation in the diversity and community composition of soil bacteria and fungi that cannot be explained by soil abiotic properties and climate.
Abstract: We lack strong empirical evidence for links between plant attributes (plant community attributes and functional traits) and the distribution of soil microbial communities at large spatial scales. Using datasets from two contrasting regions and ecosystem types in Australia and England, we report that aboveground plant community attributes, such as diversity (species richness) and cover, and functional traits can predict a unique portion of the variation in the diversity (number of phylotypes) and community composition of soil bacteria and fungi that cannot be explained by soil abiotic properties and climate. We further identify the relative importance and evaluate the potential direct and indirect effects of climate, soil properties and plant attributes in regulating the diversity and community composition of soil microbial communities. Finally, we deliver a list of examples of common taxa from Australia and England that are strongly related to specific plant traits, such as specific leaf area index, leaf nitrogen and nitrogen fixation. Together, our work provides new evidence that plant attributes, especially plant functional traits, can predict the distribution of soil microbial communities at the regional scale and across two hemispheres.
103 citations
Cites background from "Plant trait-based approaches for in..."
...…conceptual links among plant attributes and microbial community composition are reasonably well established (Hooper et al., 2000; 2018 The Authors New Phytologist 2018 New Phytologist Trust New Phytologist (2018) 1 www.newphytologist.com Research Wardle et al., 2004; Lavorel, 2013; Bardgett, 2017)....
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...…include changes in habitat conditions (e.g. soil structure, shading, water regulation) and soil chemistry (e.g. root exudation and nutrient uptake), which are both known to strongly affect the structure and function of microbial communities (Bardgett, 2017; Le Bagousse-Pinguet et al., 2017)....
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TL;DR: Knowledge of tree mycorrhizal association may improve predictions of species effects on ecosystem processes, particularly in temperate forests where AM and ECM species commonly co-occur, providing a predictive framework for linking litter quality, organic matter dynamics and nutrient acquisition in forests.
Abstract: Whereas the primary controls on litter decomposition are well established, we lack a framework for predicting interspecific differences in litter decay within and across ecosystems. Given previous research linking tree mycorrhizal association with carbon and nutrient dynamics, we hypothesized that the two dominant mycorrhizal groups in forests - arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi - differ in litter decomposition rates. We compiled leaf litter chemistry and decay data for AM- and ECM-associating angiosperms and gymnosperms (> 200 species) from temperate and tropical/subtropical, and investigated relationships among decay rates, mycorrhizal association, phylogeny and climate. In temperate forests, AM litters decayed faster than ECM litters, with litter nitrogen and phylogeny best explaining variation in litter decay. In sub/tropical forests, we found no significant difference in litter decay rate between mycorrhizal groups, and variation in decay rates was best explained by litter phosphorus. Our results suggest that knowledge of tree mycorrhizal association may improve predictions of species effects on ecosystem processes, particularly in temperate forests where AM and ECM species commonly co-occur, providing a predictive framework for linking litter quality, organic matter dynamics and nutrient acquisition in forests.
94 citations
TL;DR: In this article, El Mujtar et al. presented a model for agricultural research in the Patagonia region of Argentina based on the work of the Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria.
80 citations