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Changes in soil bacterial communities, and carbon and nitrogen metrics as potential indicators of land use effects in a humid tropical forest Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2021-04-01 William D. Eaton, Katie M. McGee, Morgan Larimer, Elizabeth Hoke, Olivia Karas, Brenda Hernandez, Natalie A. Wayland
It is unclear how different management practices influence tropical soil ecosystems in post-logging habitats over short or long terms. In this project, we demonstrated that critical differences in soil C and N metrics, organic C use efficiency, and DNA-identified bacterial community structures occurred along a land use disturbance gradient in a humid tropical primary forest (PF) Costa Rica following
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Earthworms did not increase long-term nitrous oxide fluxes in perennial forage and riparian buffer ecosystems Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2021-03-30 Leanne Ejack, Maria L. Kernecker, Roberto Prieto, Chen Chen, Shamim Gul, Robert L. Bradley, Joann K. Whalen
Many laboratory and mesocosm studies have demonstrated that earthworms influence nitrogen (N) cycling reactions and produce nitrous oxide (N2O) in well-aerated soils, but whether earthworms can stimulate N2O fluxes in realistic field conditions remains to be determined. We conducted two field experiments, in perennial forage agroecosystems for 2 yr and agriculture riparian buffers for 1 yr, to compare
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Differential effects of nutrient addition and woody plant encroachment on grassland soil, litter and plant dynamics across a precipitation gradient Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2021-03-27 Tiffany Pillay, David Ward, Admore Mureva, Michael Cramer
Interactions between woody plant encroachment and nutrient availability may vary along precipitation gradients. Furthermore, with predicted increases in N deposition due to increasing industrial emissions and changes in land use, potential increases in N storage and cycling are expected. We conducted a two-year field experiment that tested whether nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) addition and woody
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Salinization causes abrupt reduction in soil nematode abundance in the Caatinga area of the Submedio San Francisco Valley, Brazilian semiarid region Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2021-03-29 Cledson Sandro Barros de Sá, Ricardo Kenji Shiosaki, Antônio Marcos dos Santos, Maryluce Albuquerque da Silva Campos
Soil salinization is a global problem, mainly affecting arid and semi-arid regions, which are susceptible to salinity due to high evaporation and low rainfall. Salinization in soils causes negative effects on edaphic organisms and, consequently, on plants. Understanding the effects of salinization in soils is important for future intervention in these salinized areas in order to make them productive
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Decreased burrowing activity of endogeic earthworms and effects on water infiltration in response to an increase in soil bulk density Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2021-03-30 Yvan Capowiez, Stéphane Sammartino, Thomas Keller, Nicolas Bottinelli
Endogeic earthworms live and burrow in the soil to find their food. They burrow by pushing the soil aside or ingesting it and are thus sensitive to soil compaction. However there is a scarcity of data regarding the effects of soil bulk density on the burrowing behavior and activity of endogeic earthworms. We carried out laboratory experiments using repacked soil cores with various levels of bulk density
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Soil physicochemical properties shape distinct nematode communities in serpentine ecosystems Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2021-03-11 Yudai Kitagami, Kiyosada Kawai, Taisuke Ekino
Serpentine ecosystems have unique plant communities that have overcome the chemical and physical challenges presented by these soils. However, such a specific soil fauna community has not been identified. It is presumed that such communities are affected directly by the chemical and physical properties of serpentine soils. Here, we focused on nematodes, which comprise a ubiquitous and an abundant group
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Effects of diversionary feeding on abundance of microbes involved in soil nitrogen cycling on a Mediterranean mountain Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2021-03-08 Roberto Pascual-Rico, Alicia Morugán-Coronado, Lily Pereg, Sind Shamel Aldouri, Fuensanta García-Orenes, José Antonio Sánchez-Zapata
Soil microorganisms maintain soil functions, playing a key role in nutrient cycling. However, human activities may alter ecological processes through, for instance, wildlife management tools, which affect environment conditions. Some management tools, such as diversionary feeding, are a source of organic matter and promote high animal densities in small areas, which could affect soil properties and
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Soil metabolomics reveal complex interactions between Arthrobacter ureafaciens and Trichoderma harzianum when co-inoculated on wheat Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2021-03-01 Kai Yang, Hongmei Li, Ling Li, Jindong Hu, Yanli Wei, Hetong Yang, Matthew D. Denton, Yi Zhou, Jishun Li
Metabolomics provide an opportunity to investigate the detailed factors governing plant-microbe interactions that are crucial to plant health and food security. The objective of this study was to explore the influence of co-inoculation of Arthrobacter ureafaciens DnL1-1 and Trichoderma harzianum LTR-2 on wheat biomass. Soil-filled pots containing wheat (or no plants) were inoculated with different
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Dynamics of soil microarthropod populations affected by a combination of extreme climatic events in tropical home gardens of Kerala, India Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2021-02-17 Gopakumar Lakshmi, Francesca Beggi, Cristina Menta, Nallur Krishna Kumar, Puthumana Jayesh
Climate change is predicted to increase drought and flooding events in the coming decades, especially in the tropics; we need to understand the short-term responses of plant community and soil microarthropods populations to these extreme events.Yet most of our current knowledge on this comes from manipulative studies in temperate regions. The present study reports the impact of a severe summer drought
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Soil microbial community dynamics indicate disruption of nitrogen cycling by pollution in vegetation buffer zones Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2021-02-21 Zhu Chen, Hong-yan Liu, Chen Rao, Chang Jiang, Yue-chen Tan, Tu Yu, En-jiang Yu, Pan Wu
Hongfeng Lake is one of the largest artificial freshwater lakes on the Karst plateau of China, and the control of external nutrient input into the lake by a vegetation buffer zone is key to mitigating its eutrophication. Although soil microbial communities play key roles in nitrogen pollutant interception and in maintaining ecosystem stability, few studies have investigated these communities in lake
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Seasonal patterns of the abundance of ground-dwelling arthropod guilds and their responses to livestock grazing in a semi-arid steppe Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2021-02-06 Jianwei Cheng, Frank Yonghong Li, Xinmin Liu, Xinyu Wang, Dong Zhao, Xiangchao Feng, Taogetao Baoyin
The ground-dwelling arthropods is a key component in grassland ecosystem. Many studies have been done on the effects of grazing intensity and grazer species on arthropods in grassland ecosystems, but the information on the effects of grazing timing and frequency are less available. We investigated the abundance of ground-dwelling arthropods in spring, summer and autumn in an experimental steppe grassland
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Weak effect of plant canopy but strong impact of depth on variation of cultivable microfungal communities through soil profiles in semiarid Spain Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2021-02-02 Isabella Grishkan, Roberto Lázaro, Giora J. Kidron
We studied the effect of plant canopy on the distribution of microfungi through 0−30-cm soil profiles under canopies of three plant species and in their adjacent interspace at sun-exposed plain and north-facing slope in the Tabernas Desert, Spain. Using the soil dilution plate method, 142 species from 68 genera were isolated. Melanin-containing fungi dominated in the topsoil layers because of high
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Slow recovery of soil methane oxidation potential after cessation of N addition in a typical steppe Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2021-02-03 Jianxia Yang, Yang Peng, Xingguo Han
Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition can profoundly affect methane (CH4) oxidation; however, how it responds to the cessation of N addition has rarely been reported. An incubation experiment was conducted using soils from plots treated with long-term N addition to estimate the soil CH4 oxidation potential. The results showed a unimodal relationship between the levels of soil CH4 consumption and N addition
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Effects of mound building Lasius flavus on organic carbon and nutrient fluxes in soils of temperate grassland ecosystems Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-11-16 Antje Ehrle, Olaf Kolle, Alexander Tischer, Susan E. Trumbore, Beate Michalzik
Ants that build long-lasting mounds and move large amounts of mineral soil may influence the composition and fluxes of soil solutions, and thus soil nutrient cycling. However, studies quantifying such effects are scarce. In central Europe, the yellow meadow ant (Lasius flavus) is a common species that changes the character of extensively managed grasslands by its mound building activity. In total,
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Shade affects fine-root morphology in range-encroaching eastern redcedars (Juniperus virginiana) more than competition, soil fertility and pH Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2021-01-14 David Ward
Fine-root morphological variables are often directly correlated with soil nutrient availability and water absorption. Indirectly, these morphological variables could be related to nutrient depletion by other plants. The relationships of fine-root variables with shade, direct or indirect, are unknown. I tested the relationships between a number of soil quality variables (levels of nitrogen and lime)
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Litter arthropods community in multifunctional landscapes: Spatial and temporal complementarity of Brazilian ecosystems Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2021-01-13 Danúbia Magalhães Soares, André R. Terra Nascimento, José Matheus Hilário da Silva, Cláudio Henrique Eurípedes de Oliveira
In view of the heterogeneity of ecosystems that make up the Cerrado biome, frequent replacement of native vegetation by exotic components and typically seasonal climate, the present study aimed to investigate: (1) How litter arthropods communities are distributed in time and space in a multifunctional landscape in Cerrado biome, and (2) the importance of natural and anthropized ecosystems for the litter
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Litter decomposition and microbial communities alters depending on litter type and overstory species in revegetated agricultural land Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-11-20 Daniela Carnovale, Alan E. Richardson, Peter H. Thrall, Andrew Bissett, Geoff Baker
Acacia and Eucalyptus species are commonly used for revegetation in Australia and other parts of the world, yet little is known regarding how their litter might differentially impact decomposition rates and extracellular enzyme activities. To investigate this, a litter decomposition experiment was established using a reciprocal design (litter type x dominant overstory genus) in Acacia and Eucalyptus
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Distribution of physiochemically defined soil organic carbon pools and their relationship to the soil microbial community in grasslands Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-12-09 Tianqi Zhu, Saman Herath, Paul Newton, Fujiang Hou, Saman Bowatte
Sequestration of carbon (C) in soils provides an important tool for climate change mitigation and grasslands offer significant potential for this approach. In this study, we examined soil organic C (SOC) protection mechanisms in alpine meadow, typical steppe and desert grassland ecosystems located in the Gansu province of China. We also examined which microbial taxonomic groups are associated with
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Stability of soil organic carbon during forest conversion is more sensitive in deep soil than in topsoil in subtropical forests Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-12-18 Maokui Lyu, Asko Noormets, Liisa Ukonmaanaho, Yiqing Li, Yusheng Yang, Jinsheng Xie
Despite much research, a lot of uncertainty remains regarding the effects of forest conversion to plantation on soil organic carbon (SOC) stabilization, particularly in deep soils. After comparing the SOC content and its distribution in over 200 years old natural broadleaved of forest of Castanopsis carlesii to that in an adjacent 38 years old C. carlesii plantation, we evaluated the effect of land
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Bacterial and fungal communities, but not physicochemical properties, of soil differ according to root rot status of pea Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-12-11 Syama Chatterton, Hee Eun Yang, Rodrigo Ortega Polo, Tim A. McAllister, Samira Safarieskandari, Newton Lupwayi
Aims Field pea (Pisum sativum L.) is an important rotation crop in agriculture on the Canadian prairies. Pea root rot is caused by a complex of soilborne pathogens, and can have a tremendous impact on reducing yields and removing fields from pea production. The objectives of this study were to: determine whether characteristics of the fungal and bacterial microbiome are associated with diseased or
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Soil fauna groups respond differentially to changes in crop rotation cycles in rice production systems Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-12-05 Katharina John, Andrey S. Zaitsev, Volkmar Wolters
Permanently flooded rice cropping is increasingly converted to rotation systems including upland crops, managed with adaptive nitrogen fertilizer application schemes for the sake of both saving water and optimizing nutrient application. Such changes alter the diversity and composition of the edaphic fauna, with a critical impact on soil functioning. We conducted a survey at 12 plots in Central Luzon
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Functional shifts of soil microbial communities associated with Alliaria petiolata invasion Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-11-26 Katherine Duchesneau, Anneke Golemiec, Robert I. Colautti, Pedro M. Antunes
Soil feedback is thought to be an important contributor to the success of invasive plants. Despite evidence that invasive plants change soil microbial diversity, the functional roles of microbes impacted by invasion are still unclear. This knowledge is a critical component of our understanding of ecological mechanisms of plant invasion. Mounting evidence suggests Alliaria petiolata can suppress arbuscular
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Variability of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities within the root systems of individual plants is high and influenced by host species and root phosphorus Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-11-04 C. Deveautour, S. Donn, A.E. Bennett, S. Power, J.R. Powell
The spatial distribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities has been studied at many scales, from global to local, but few studies have explored variation within the root system of individual plants. Spatial variation within root systems might be expected partly due to differences in the physiology, morphology and anatomy of different roots, as well as due to spatial variation in the
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Composition and interaction frequencies in soil bacterial communities change in association with urban park age in Beijing Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-11-04 Bing Yan, Qing Lu, Jing He, Yue Qi, Gang Fu, Nengwen Xiao, Junsheng Li
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Ecological restoration methods influence the structure of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in degraded drylands Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-11-02 Adler Santana Medeiros, Bruno Tomio Goto, Gislene Ganade
Dry forest restoration success could be strongly dependent on the re-establishment of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities. AM fungi directly influence growth of a great variety of plant species by increasing nutrient uptake and providing a network of nutrient distribution for the whole plant community. Our study focuses on how different ecological restoration techniques could influence AM
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Soil and microbial nutrient status are heterogeneous within an elevational belt on a neotropical mountain Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-10-24 Nathaly R. Guerrero-Ramírez, Valeria Pizarro, Benjamin L. Turner
Tropical mountains support a variety of vegetation types that are threatened by global change, but our understanding of these threats is limited by our scarce knowledge of nutrient constraints on belowground processes in these sensitive ecosystems. To address this, we quantified chemical and microbiological properties at five sites associated with four vegetation types at high elevations (>3000 m a
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Soil macrofaunal activity, microbial catabolic limitations and nutrient cycling in cropping systems amended with woody residues and nitrogen inputs Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-10-12 Daouda Guébré, Salifou Traoré, Edmond Hien, Der Somé, Babou André Bationo, Martin Wiesmeier
Agroecological practices are emerging as efficient alternatives to address the challenge of sustainable agriculture. The objective of this study was to examine whether plant residue amendments from stems and leaves (SL) of an agroforestry shrub (Piliostigma reticulatum) enriched with nitrogen (N) sources improve nutrient cycling in Soudano-Sahelian cropping systems. The experimental design was organized
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Belowground plant-plant signaling of root infection by nematodes Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-10-17 Peihua Zhang, Dries Bonte, Gerlinde B. De Deyn, Martijn L. Vandegehuchte
Communication between plants mediated by herbivore-induced volatile organic compounds has been extensively studied aboveground. However, the role of root herbivory in belowground plant-plant communication is much less understood. We here investigated whether root herbivores can trigger plant roots to emit warning signals to neighbouring plants that are not yet in direct contact with them. We used a
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Irrigation and fertilization effects on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi depend on growing season in a dryland maize agroecosystem Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-10-19 Peng-Peng Lü, Yong Zheng, Liang Chen, Niu-Niu Ji, Hui Yao, Pulak Maitra, Hang-Wei Hu, Xing-Chun Li, Liang-Dong Guo
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Stramenopiles and Cercozoa dominate the heterotrophic protist community of biological soil crusts irrespective of edaphic factors Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-09-01 Samira Khanipour Roshan, Kenneth Dumack, Michael Bonkowski, Ulf Karsten, Karin Glaser
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are terrestrial micro-habitats distributed in drylands and also in temperate coastal dunes. Biocrusts harbor phototrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms in the upper soil layer, which fulfil important ecological functions such as primary production and energy channelling via the microbial loop. Heterotrophic protists, although being an essential component of the
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Benefits of dual inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobia on Phaseolus vulgaris planted in a low-fertility tropical soil Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-09-16 A.T.E. Razakatiana, J. Trap, R.H. Baohanta, M. Raherimandimby, C. Le Roux, R. Duponnois, H. Ramanankierana, T. Becquer
The growth response of Phaseolus vulgaris to dual inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and rhizobia was studied in a low-fertility tropical soil in Madagascar. Two isolates of AM fungi identified as Acaulospora sp. and Glomus sp., respectively, along with a cocktail of ten Rhizobium spp. strains were used to conduct a greenhouse experiment in a fully randomized block design with two factors
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Response of soil fauna to simulated global change factors depends on ambient climate conditions Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-09-17 Matthew L. Meehan, Carlos Barreto, Matthew S. Turnbull, Robert L. Bradley, Jean-Philippe Bellenger, Romain Darnajoux, Zoë Lindo
Soils systems provide essential ecosystem functions and services performed by a hyperdiverse array of fauna, but how soil communities respond to climate change remains an understudied topic. Although previous long-term studies have found variable effects of climate change manipulations on soil communities, precipitation often yields strong responses from fauna. In this study we used a field-based experiment
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Using X-ray microtomography to characterize the burrowing behaviour of earthworms in heterogeneously polluted soils Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-08-28 María Balseiro-Romero, Arnaud Mazurier, Dmytro Monoshyn, Philippe C. Baveye, Julia Clause
Large amounts of chemicals are released into soil environments due to human activities, thereby harming organisms and their habitats. Earthworms are important bioindicators for chemical risk assessments of soil ecosystems, but the question remains of how they respond to different patterns of pollution. Laboratory experiments in soil mesocosms were carried out to observe changes in the burrowing behaviour
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Plant diversity decreases potential nitrous oxide emissions from restored agricultural soil Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-08-18 Drew A. Scott, Kathryn D. Eckhoff, Sara G. Baer
Plant diversity has been shown to mitigate nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from soil in some ecosystems. We tested the generality of this diversity effect on ecosystem functioning, as an application of ecological theory by quantifying potential nitrous oxide emissions in grasslands restored from agriculture containing high and low diversity. We performed an initial plant survey to develop the study design
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Tools for monitoring and study of peregrine pheretimoid earthworms (Megascolecidae) Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-08-16 Timothy S. McCay, George Brown, Mac A. Callaham, Chih-Han Chang, Andrea Dávalos, Annise Dobson, Josef H. Görres, Bradley M. Herrick, Samuel W. James, Marie R. Johnston, Damhnait McHugh, Tanya Minteer, Jean-David Moore, Maryam Nouri-Aiin, Marta Novo, Jaime Ortiz-Pachar, Rebecca A. Pinder, Justin B. Richardson, Katalin Szlavecz
Peregrine pheretimoid earthworms, commonly known as jumping worms, are members of the family Megascolecidae that have become widely established outside of their native ranges. In many parts of the world this represents a second wave of earthworm invasions, following the introduction of peregrine European earthworms in the family Lumbricidae during the colonial era. Forest ecologists, turf managers
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Metabarcoding mites: Three years of elevated CO2 has no effect on oribatid assemblages in a Eucalyptus woodland Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-08-08 Giles M. Ross, Sebastian Horn, Catriona A. Macdonald, Jeff R. Powell, Jason K. Reynolds, Michelle M. Ryan, James M. Cook, Uffe N. Nielsen
Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (eCO2) are known to significantly impact aboveground vegetation, with cascading effects on belowground systems. However, the effects of altered biogeochemical and hydrological cycles on belowground faunal assemblages remain unclear. Oribatid mites are abundant and hyperdiverse litter decomposers, with the potential to act as bioindicators of ecosystem
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Climate and soil properties regulate soil fungal communities on the Loess Plateau Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-08-06 Quanchao Zeng, Yang Liu, Li Xiao, Shaoshan An
This study investigated the effects of environmental variables on soil fungal communities under different vegetation types in order to advance our understanding of soil fungal community assembly associated with restored vegetation and under different climate conditions. Three vegetation types (no grazing and logging in grasslands and forests, and planted herbs and small shrubs in bare land in the desert)
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Winter cover crops and no till management enhance enzyme activities in soybean field soils Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-07-17 Heather L. Tyler
Elimination of tillage and planting winter cover crops are two conservation practices employed in agricultural row crop production to promote the accumulation of plant residues on the soil surface, improve soil structure, reduce erosion, and decrease losses of excess nutrients in runoff. The purpose of the current study was to assess the effects of no till management and two different cover crop species
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Salinity changes root occupancy by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal species Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-07-16 Rong Yang, Zefeng Qin, Jingjing Wang, Song Xu, Wei Zhao, Xiaoxia Zhang, Zhiyong Huang
Understanding the diversity and community composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in stressful conditions is fundamental to predicting the occurrence and function of indigenous AM fungal associations in a changing soil environment. Here, using whole-soil inoculum, we investigated the effects of salinity on community structure and colonization rate of AM fungi in roots, and assessed their influence
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Metaproteomes reveal increased capacity for stress tolerance of soil microbes in ferruginous tropical rocky outcrops Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-07-11 Felipe Costa Trindade, Silvio Junio Ramos, Markus Gastauer, Aline Madeira Marques Saraiva, Cecílio Frois Caldeira, Guilherme Oliveira, Rafael Borges da Silva Valadares
Ferruginous tropical rocky outcrops such as that of banded iron formations, in Brazil also known as ‘cangas’, are characterized by severe abiotic conditions, such as shallow soils and high temperatures and represent unique hotspots of biodiversity. This study aimed to analyze a metaproteome from a typical canga soil, which may be critical to understanding the mechanisms for the maintenance of ecological
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Nitrogen enrichment affects soil enzymatic stoichiometry via soil acidification in arid and hot land Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-07-06 Bangguo Yan, Yi Sun, Guangxiong He, Runlian He, Mengyin Zhang, Haidong Fang, Liangtao Shi
Soil enzymatic stoichiometry reflects the patterns of soil microbial resource allocation for the acquisition of nutrients from different forms of soil organic matter. Nitrogen enrichment derived from human activities greatly affects soil biological properties and chemical properties. However, the mechanism for changing soil enzymatic stoichiometry due to nitrogen enrichment remains unclear. We established
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Impact of legumes on soil microbial activity and C cycle functions in two contrasting Cameroonian agro-ecological zones Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-07-03 Nelly B. Momo Wobeng, Callum C. Banfield, Clautilde Megueni, Pierre Marie Mapongmetsem, Michaela A. Dippold
Unsustainable farming systems for a growing population in Sub-Saharan Africa stress natural resources and lead to soil degradation. Legume cultivation, however, promotes soil microbial communities and may help reverse soil degradation. The soil properties (pH, texture, C and nutrient contents) of a set of contrasting sites from two agro-ecological zones of Cameroon were determined. This study characterises
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Temporal changes in enzyme activities associated with ectomycorrhizas and soil from secondary deciduous dipterocarp forest fragments Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-06-20 Pawara Pachit, Nipada Ruankaew Disyatat, Jittra Piapukiew
Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi form a symbiotic association with host trees, functionally promoting the nutrient uptake in the hosts via their secretion of enzymes to degrade organic compounds. Because of the involvement in nutrient cycling, ECM fungi are important to the establishment of host trees and forest recovery. In Thailand, ECM fungi are mostly associated with host tree species in the Dipterocarpaceae
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Contributions of temporal and spatial variation to the diversity of soil-dwelling testate amoeba assemblages in a swampy forest Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-06-06 Yuri A. Mazei, Alisa Trulova, Natalia G. Mazei, Richard J. Payne, Andrey N. Tsyganov
Understanding the spatial and temporal variation in protist communities is essential for comprehensive studies on diversity and biogeography, yet most research focuses on either spatial or temporal processes, ignoring their combined effects. Here we use an additive partitioning approach to estimate the contribution of temporal and spatial components to the total taxonomical (morphospecies) diversity
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Shifting prokaryotic communities along a soil formation chronosequence and across soil horizons in a South Taiga ecosystem Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-05-27 Ekaterina A. Ivanova, Elizaveta V. Pershina, Vasilii M. Shapkin, Arina A. Kichko, Tatiana S. Aksenova, Anastasia K. Kimeklis, Grigorii V. Gladkov, Alexey O. Zverev, Nadezda A. Vasilyeva, Evgeny E. Andronov, Evgeny V. Abakumov
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Determination of litter derived C and N in litterbags and soil using stable isotopes prevents overestimation of litter decomposition in alley cropping systems Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-05-25 Christine Wachendorf, Hans-Peter Piepho, René Beuschel
Litter decomposition is an important ecosystem process mediated by soil organisms. It has been widely estimated by determining mass loss rates of plant residues applied in litterbags. However, catabolic degradation of litter by soil organisms is overestimated when the transfer of undecomposed or partly decomposed litter outside the litterbags is not considered. To account for these constraints, 13C
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Does metal pollution affect the stoichiometry of soil-litter food webs? Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-05-11 Michel Asselman, Łukasz Sobczyk, January Weiner, Stefan Scheu, Anna Rożen
To date, the field of ecological stoichiometry has focused mainly on macro-elements in aquatic systems. We investigated terrestrial systems and included micro-elements in the study to assess the elemental transfer in a detritivorous food web. We compared the food webs of six sites differing in the type and degree of metal pollution along two forest transects contaminated with copper or zinc. We measured
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Tuber aestivum is associated with changes in soil chemistry and reduced biological quality in a Quercus pubescens stand in Northern Italy Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-05-11 Michele Innangi, Antonietta Fioretto, Carlos Lozano Fondón, Luis Gonzaga García-Montero, Rossana Marzaioli, Stefania Pinto, Flora Angela Rutigliano, Cristina Menta
Truffles contribute both directly and indirectly to important dynamics in the soil web, being involved in a large number of ecological functions that are crucial for terrestrial ecosystems. Despite this, the interrelationships between true truffles, i.e. hypogeous ectomycorrhizal fungi producing valuable fruiting bodies, and other elements of the soil system are largely unknown. In this study, we aimed
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What factors influence the occurrence of Cubitermes pallidiceps in miombo woodlands in southwestern Burundi? Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-05-11 Déogratias Nduwarugira, Thomas Drouet, François Havyarimana, Yves Roisin
In Africa, not only large number of termite species remain to be described, but also ecological studies on the termite fauna of the continent are scarce. For instance, the mechanisms underlying termite mounds distribution in ecosystems stay poorly known. The main goal of this study was to assess what determines the distribution of soil-feeding termites playing an important role in the recycling of
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Significant effects on soil microbial communities were not detected after strategic tillage following 44 years of conventional or no-tillage management Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-05-05 Vivian A. Rincon-Florez, Lilia C. Carvalhais, Yash P. Dang, Mark H. Crawford, Peer M. Schenk, Paul G. Dennis
Strategic tillage (ST) has been proposed to help control weeds that germinate during fallow-periods in continuous no till (NT) farming systems, but its effects on soil biological properties are unclear. ST is a type of reduced tillage (RT) that places particular emphasis during the decision-making process on agro-climatic conditions, and the frequency, timing and implements used to till. Here, we assessed
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Soil-dwelling arthropods as indicators of erosion in a South African grassland habitat Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-04-26 Sylvia S. van der Merwe, Vaughn R. Swart, Emile Bredenhand, Charles R. Haddad
Soil erosion is a natural process that drives the formation of lowland terrains in mountainous regions. Its role in ecosystem degradation has been strongly debated, due to the significant effect it has on a range of land types. Soil arthropods have been used as indicators of several disturbance types. However, little is known about arthropods in eroded sites in South Africa. The aim of this study was
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Spatial and temporal patterns in soil organic carbon, microbial biomass and activity under different land-use types in a long-term soil-monitoring network Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-04-18 Peter Woloszczyk, Claudia Fiencke, Dirk-Christian Elsner, Eckhard Cordsen, Eva-Maria Pfeiffer
Preservation of soil organic carbon (SOC) requires knowledge concerning the quantity and quality of both the SOC and the SOC-decomposing microbial community. In northern Germany, this information is assessed as part of Schleswig-Holstein’s long-term soil-monitoring programme, in which topsoils have been analysed since 1995. In this study, we evaluated long-term data from Schleswig-Holstein’s monitoring
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Impact of soil nitrogen availability and pH on tropical heath forest organic matter decomposition and decomposer activity Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-04-18 Giacomo Sellan, Jill Thompson, Noreen Majalap, Rolando Robert, Francis Q. Brearley
Decomposition is a key process for rain forest nutrient cycling, and this may be altered by the increasing rate of deposition of reactive nitrogen on rain forests. Tropical heath forests are characterised by slow litter decomposition rates due to low quality litter, along with acidic soil pH and low availability of soil nitrogen (N). To investigate whether soil N or pH is most important in regulating
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Simulated nitrogen deposition decreases soil microbial diversity in a semiarid grassland, with little mediation of this effect by mowing Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-04-18 Hai-Wei Wei, Xiao-Guang Wang, Ying-Bin Li, Jun-Jie Yang, Jun-Feng Wang, Xiao-Tao Lü, Xing-Guo Han
Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has important effects on soil microbial community diversity and composition. While it is well-known that mowing, a widely used grassland management strategy, could mediate the impacts of N enrichment on macro-organism community composition, much less known is the intra-annual variation of soil microbial community and their responses to N deposition and mowing. Here
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Consistent seed ingestion preferences of earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris) between no-choice and choice feeding experiments Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-04-17 Sara Burilo, Michael J. McTavish, Stephen D. Murphy
Earthworm-seed interactions are increasingly recognized as ecologically important. Efforts to study these interactions make use of either no-choice or choice feeding trials due to logistical constraints or differing objectives, however, evidence is lacking regarding the consistency of feeding preferences by earthworms between these scenarios. We conducted a small-scale study in which we compared ingestion
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Validation and extension of the Tea Bag Index to collect decomposition data from termite-rich ecosystems Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-04-08 Aloysius Teo, Nadiah P. Kristensen, Joost A. Keuskamp, Theodore A. Evans, Maosheng Foo, Ryan A. Chisholm
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Bar-HRM for identification of cryptic earthworm species Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-03-06 Gaspard Baudrin, Virginie Roy, Agnès Gigon, Lise Dupont
Accurate species identification is crucial in ecological research on sentinel species such as earthworms. Here, we developed a reliable and cost-efficient method for the rapid identification of taxa within the Allolobophora chlorotica complex of cryptic earthworm species. We combined high resolution melting (HRM) analysis with DNA barcoding (Bar-HRM) in a three-step approach: (i) selection of a mini-barcode
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Effects of nest building by the dominant hunting ant, Ectatomma sp. 2 (E. ruidum complex), on Andean coffee plantations Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-02-26 Carlos Santamaría, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Inge Armbrecht
Soil removal by ants when building or adapting their nests generates ecological changes within the soil and on its surface, impacting both soil physical properties and plant growth. Ectatomma sp. 2 (E. ruidum complex) is a dominant hunting ant in numerous neotropical agricultural systems; however, its bioturbation impact on agroecosystems of economic importance, such as coffee, has not been studied
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Move or change, an eco-evolutionary dilemma: The case of Collembola Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-02-10 Jean-François Ponge
The present opinion paper suggests that springtails, which can live above- and/or belowground according to species requirements, have two strategies at their disposal to face environmental hazards, called ‘move’ or ‘change’. Species with poor dispersal capacity, often parthenogenetic, and living mainly in a confined environment, have to adapt themselves by increasing their phenotypic plasticity or
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Consistent effects of a non-native earthworm on soil microbial communities in three subtropical forests Pedobiologia (IF 2.0) Pub Date : 2020-01-15 Hongzhi Zhang, Leilei Shi, Dazhi Wen, Ruijiang Wang
Non-native earthworms have increasingly become a global problem due to the strong effects they exert on biodiversity and ecosystem functions in their introduced habitat. Quantifying interactions between non-native earthworm and microbial communities in forest ecosystems should increase our understanding of non-native earthworm-induced changes in soil biogeochemical cycles and plant diversity. In a
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