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223 results for “soil functioning”
Data from: Grazing-induced shifts in community functional composition and soil nutrient availability in Tibetan alpine meadows
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Data from: Choice of resolution by functional trait or taxonomy affects allometric scaling in soil food webs
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Data from: Long-term balanced fertilization improves the soil microbial functional diversity in a phosphorus-limited paddy soil
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The functional role and diversity of soil nematodes are stronger at high elevation in the lesser Himalayan mountain ranges
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Data from: Above and belowground responses of four tundra plant functional types to deep soil heating and surface soil fertilization
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Changes in microbial community structure and functioning with elevation are linked to local soil characteristics as well as climatic variables
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Soil organic matter responses to nutrient enrichment in the Nutrient Network:Nutrient Network. A cross-site investigation of bottom-up control over herbaceous plant community dynamics and ecosystem function.
This experiment is one implementation of a globally distributed experiment, known as the Nutrient Network. At Cedar Creek, as in over 70 other sites in grasslands around the world, the experiment aims to describe impacts of increased nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur and other metals) and decreased herbivory (removal of mammals by fencing). Two overarching questions are being explored with these manipulations: 1. To what extent are plant production and diversity co-limited by multiple nutrients in herbaceous-dominated communities? 2. Under what conditions do grazers or fertilization control plant biomass, diversity, and composition? By utilizing identical protocols at diverse grassland sites around the world, NutNet aims to uncover both the generalities in ecosystem functioning, and the contingencies or differences which can obscure those common mechanisms. In addition to the standard NutNet protocol, e247 includes an additional low Nitrogen gradient (1 gram Nitrogen per meter squared per year and 5 grams Nitrogen per meter squared per year in addition to the standard 10 grams Nitrogen per meter squared per year).
Soil organic matter, total nitrogen and pH:Microbial composition and function across an old-field chronosequence
As mediators of biogeochemical cycles, understanding the ecological forces structuring soil microbial communities is of ecosystem-level significance. Due to gradual shifts in plant species composition and litter addition through time, succession can be used as a model to understand how plant communities shape microbial community composition and function in soil. Numerous studies have investigated microbial biomass and diversity along successional gradients, yet few have quantified changes in microbial communities. Using the established successional dynamics experiment at Cedar Creek, principal investigators Lauren C. Cline and Donald R. Zak investigated the influence of plant community composition in structuring microbial community composition and function. Specifically, their research addressed the following questions: 1. Do shifts in saprotrophic microbial communities correlate to changes in plant community composition through successional time? 2. What is the relative influence of soil properties and plant community characteristics in determining microbial community dynamics? Cline and Zak sampled soils from 8 established abandoned agricultural fields (e054), as well as three adjacent forests representing potential late-successional ecosystems, to investigate microbial dynamics using three complementary approaches: targeted sequencing of fungal and bacterial communities, quantitative PCR, and shotgun metagenomics. Further, the characterization of soil properties across the chronosequence will enable us to disentangle the impact of abiotic factors in structuring microbial communities.
Soil nutrient analysis:Nutrient Network. A cross-site investigation of bottom-up control over herbaceous plant community dynamics and ecosystem function.
This experiment is one implementation of a globally distributed experiment, known as the Nutrient Network. At Cedar Creek, as in over 70 other sites in grasslands around the world, the experiment aims to describe impacts of increased nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur and other metals) and decreased herbivory (removal of mammals by fencing). Two overarching questions are being explored with these manipulations: 1. To what extent are plant production and diversity co-limited by multiple nutrients in herbaceous-dominated communities? 2. Under what conditions do grazers or fertilization control plant biomass, diversity, and composition? By utilizing identical protocols at diverse grassland sites around the world, NutNet aims to uncover both the generalities in ecosystem functioning, and the contingencies or differences which can obscure those common mechanisms. In addition to the standard NutNet protocol, e247 includes an additional low Nitrogen gradient (1 gram Nitrogen per meter squared per year and 5 grams Nitrogen per meter squared per year in addition to the standard 10 grams Nitrogen per meter squared per year).
Soil percent carbon and nitrogen:Dimensions of Biodiversity - Genetic, Phylogenetic, Functional, and Remotely Sensed Diversity
Novel remote sensing methods for monitoring the Earth's biodiversity will be applied to experimental manipulations of plant diversity - allowing scientists to examine the linkages between plant biodiversity, soil microbe diversity and ecosystem function at multiple scales of spatial resolution. Specifically, we propose to link remotely sensed optical diversity to plant functional, phylogenetic and genotypic diversity aboveground and to net primary production (NPP), and soil properties and microbial processes belowground, as a basis for predicting ecosystem processes with remote sensing. Our central hypothesis is that i) biodiversity (genotypic, functional and phylogenetic diversity) at one trophic level (plants) drives genetic and functional diversity in other trophic levels (soil microbes) with consequences for ecosystem function and ii) that such diversity can be detected remotely at multiple scales of spatial resolution. We propose to test this hypotheses within the long-term prairie biodiversity experiment (e120 Big Bio), the newly established Forest and Biodiversity (e271 FAB 1) experiment, and the Biodiversity of Willows and Poplars (e277 BiWaP) experiment. We will measure optical properties of these plots at the leaf level, 1 m above the plant canopy and from aircraft. Leaf level sampling and percent cover estimates will be non-destructive. Biomass sampling in Big Bio will follow standard protocol for the long-term experiment. Biomass estimates in FAB and BiWaP will use non-destructive methods. Below ground sampling in BigBio will be taken within the clip strip for biomass harvest. The proposed research involves researchers at the University of Minnesota, the University of Alberta, the University of Nebraska Lincoln, the University of Wisconsin, and Appalachian State University.
Soil pH:Dimensions of Biodiversity - Genetic, Phylogenetic, Functional, and Remotely Sensed Diversity
Novel remote sensing methods for monitoring the Earth's biodiversity will be applied to experimental manipulations of plant diversity - allowing scientists to examine the linkages between plant biodiversity, soil microbe diversity and ecosystem function at multiple scales of spatial resolution. Specifically, we propose to link remotely sensed optical diversity to plant functional, phylogenetic and genotypic diversity aboveground and to net primary production (NPP), and soil properties and microbial processes belowground, as a basis for predicting ecosystem processes with remote sensing. Our central hypothesis is that i) biodiversity (genotypic, functional and phylogenetic diversity) at one trophic level (plants) drives genetic and functional diversity in other trophic levels (soil microbes) with consequences for ecosystem function and ii) that such diversity can be detected remotely at multiple scales of spatial resolution. We propose to test this hypotheses within the long-term prairie biodiversity experiment (e120 Big Bio), the newly established Forest and Biodiversity (e271 FAB 1) experiment, and the Biodiversity of Willows and Poplars (e277 BiWaP) experiment. We will measure optical properties of these plots at the leaf level, 1 m above the plant canopy and from aircraft. Leaf level sampling and percent cover estimates will be non-destructive. Biomass sampling in Big Bio will follow standard protocol for the long-term experiment. Biomass estimates in FAB and BiWaP will use non-destructive methods. Below ground sampling in BigBio will be taken within the clip strip for biomass harvest. The proposed research involves researchers at the University of Minnesota, the University of Alberta, the University of Nebraska Lincoln, the University of Wisconsin, and Appalachian State University.
Soil microbial respiration rate:Dimensions of Biodiversity - Genetic, Phylogenetic, Functional, and Remotely Sensed Diversity
Novel remote sensing methods for monitoring the Earth's biodiversity will be applied to experimental manipulations of plant diversity - allowing scientists to examine the linkages between plant biodiversity, soil microbe diversity and ecosystem function at multiple scales of spatial resolution. Specifically, we propose to link remotely sensed optical diversity to plant functional, phylogenetic and genotypic diversity aboveground and to net primary production (NPP), and soil properties and microbial processes belowground, as a basis for predicting ecosystem processes with remote sensing. Our central hypothesis is that i) biodiversity (genotypic, functional and phylogenetic diversity) at one trophic level (plants) drives genetic and functional diversity in other trophic levels (soil microbes) with consequences for ecosystem function and ii) that such diversity can be detected remotely at multiple scales of spatial resolution. We propose to test this hypotheses within the long-term prairie biodiversity experiment (e120 Big Bio), the newly established Forest and Biodiversity (e271 FAB 1) experiment, and the Biodiversity of Willows and Poplars (e277 BiWaP) experiment. We will measure optical properties of these plots at the leaf level, 1 m above the plant canopy and from aircraft. Leaf level sampling and percent cover estimates will be non-destructive. Biomass sampling in Big Bio will follow standard protocol for the long-term experiment. Biomass estimates in FAB and BiWaP will use non-destructive methods. Below ground sampling in BigBio will be taken within the clip strip for biomass harvest. The proposed research involves researchers at the University of Minnesota, the University of Alberta, the University of Nebraska Lincoln, the University of Wisconsin, and Appalachian State University.
Distribution of metal axes as a function of soil pH
<p>As part of a Master's thesis, the intensity of metal axes as a function of soil pH was estimated. The metal axes were found by private metal detectorists in England and Wales (Portable Antiquities Scheme), Denmark (Digitale Metaldetektorfund) and the Netherlands (Portable Antiquities Scheme). Calculations were performed with the 'rhohat' function in R. </p>
Data from: Climate, soil resources and microbial activity shape the distributions of mountain plants based on their functional traits
<p>While soil ecosystems undergo important modi cations due to global change, the e ect of soil properties on plant distributions is still poorly understood. Plant growth is not only controlled by soil physico-chemistry but also by microbial activities through the decomposition of organic matter and the recycling of nutrients essential for plants. A growing body of evidence also suggests that plant functional traits modulate spe- cies' response to environmental gradients. However, no study has yet contrasted the importance of soil physico-chemistry, microbial activities and climate on plant species distributions, while accounting for how plant functional traits can in uence species- speci c responses.</p> <p>Using hierarchical e ects in a multi-species distribution model, we investigate how<br> four functional traits related to resource acquisition (plant height, leaf carbon to nitro-<br> gen ratio, leaf dry matter content and speci c leaf area) modulate the response of<br> 44 plant species to climatic variables, soil physico-chemical properties and microbial 100 decomposition activity (i.e. exoenzymatic activities) in the French Alps.</p> <p>Our hierarchical trait-based model allowed to predict well 41 species according to the TSS statistic. In addition to climate, the combination of soil C/N, as a measure of organic matter quality, and exoenzymatic activity, as a measure of microbial decom- position activity, strongly improved predictions of plant distributions. Plant traits played an important role. In particular, species with conservative traits performed bet- ter under limiting nutrient conditions but were outcompeted by exploitative plants in more favorable environments.</p> <p>We demonstrate tight associations between microbial decomposition activity, plant functional traits associated to di erent resource acquisition strategies and plant dis- tributions. is highlights the importance of plant–soil linkages for mountain plant distributions. ese results are crucial for biodiversity modelling in a world where both climatic and soil systems are undergoing profound and rapid transformations.</p>
EFFECTS OF MICROPLASTICS AND DROUGHT ON SOIL ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS AND MULTIFUNCTIONALITY
<p class="western"> </p> <ol> <li> <p><span><span>Microplastics in soils have become an important threat for terrestrial systems as they may potentially alter the geochemical/biophysical soil environment and can interact with drought. As microplastics may affect soil water content, this could exacerbate the well-known negative effects of drought on ecosystem functionality. Thus, functions including litter decomposition, soil aggregation or those related with nutrient cycling can be altered. Despite this potential interaction, we know relatively little about how microplastics, under different soil water conditions, affect ecosystem functions and multifunctionality. </span></span></p> </li> <li> <p><span><span>To address this gap, we performed an experiment using grassland plant communities growing in microcosms. Microplastic fibers (absent, present) and soil water conditions (well-watered, drought), were applied in a fully factorial design. At harvest, we measured soil ecosystem functions related to nutrient cycling (ß-glucosaminidase, ß-D-cellobiosidase, phosphatase, ß-glucosidase enzymes), respiration, nutrient retention, pH, litter decomposition and soil aggregation (water stable aggregates). As terrestrial systems provide these functions simultaneously, we also assessed ecosystem multifunctionality, an index that encompasses the array of ecosystem functions measured here.</span></span></p> </li> <li> <p><span><span>We found that the interaction between microplastic fibers and drought affected ecosystem functions and multifunctionality. Drought had negatively affected nutrient cycling by decreasing enzymatic activities by up to ~39 %, while microplastics increased soil aggregation by ~18 %, soil pH by ~4 %, and nutrient retention by up to ~70 % by diminishing nutrient leaching. Microplastic fibers also impacted soil enzymes, respiration and ecosystem multifunctionality, but importantly, the direction of these effects depended on soil water status. That is, under well-watered conditions, these functions decreased with microplastic fibers by up to ~34 % while under drought they had similar values irrespective of the microplastic presence, or tended to increase with microplastics. Litter decomposition had a contrary pattern increasing with microplastics by ~6 % under well-watered conditions while decreasing to a similar percentage under drought. </span></span></p> </li> <li> <p><span><span><i>Synthesis and applications</i>. Single ecosystem functions can be positively or negatively affected by microplastics fibers depending on soil water status. However, our results suggest that microplastic fibers may cause negative effects on ecosystem soil multifunctionality of a similar magnitude as drought. Thus, strategies to counteract this new global change factor are necessary</span></span></p> </li> </ol>
Data from: Effects of aridity on soil microbial communities and functions across soil depths on the Mongolian Plateau
1. Arid and semi-arid grassland ecosystems cover about 15% of the global land surface and provide vital soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) sequestration. Although half of the soil C and N is stored in deep soils (below 30 cm), no regional-scale study of microbial properties and their functions through the soil profile has been conducted in these drylands. 2. To explore the distribution and determinants of microbial properties and C and N mineralization rates through soil profile along aridity gradient at a regional scale, we investigated these variables for four soil layers (0-20, 20-40, 40-60, and 60-100 cm) in 132 plots on the Mongolia Plateau. 3. Soil microbial properties (biomass and bacteria:fungi ratio) and C and N mineralization rates decreased with increasing soil depth and aridity at the regional scale. Aridity-induced declines in soil microbial properties mainly resulted from the negative effects of aridity on ANPP/root biomass and soil organic C (SOC) in the surface soil layers (0-20 and 20-40 cm) but from the direct and indirect (via SOC and soil C/N) negative effects of aridity in the deep soil layers (40-60 and 60-100 cm). 4. Aridity-induced declines in soil C mineralization rates mainly resulted from the negative indirect effect of aridity on SOC and microbial properties in each soil layer, with weaker effects of SOC and stronger effects of soil microbes in the deep soil layers. Aridity-induced declines in soil N mineralization rates mainly resulted from the negative indirect effect of aridity on SOC in the three soil layers above 60 cm and mainly resulted from the negative direct effect of aridity in the 60-100 cm soil layer. 5. Aridity via direct or indirect effects strongly determined the patterns of soil microbial properties and C and N mineralization throughout soil profiles on the Mongolian Plateau. These findings suggest that the increases in aridity are likely to induce changes in soil microorganisms and their associated functions across soil depths of semi-arid grasslands, and future models should consider the dynamic interactions between substrates and microbial properties across soil depths in global drylands.
Data from: Functional diversity of Collembola is reduced in soils subjected to short-term, but not long-term, geothermal warming
1. Human activities have caused global changes of atmospheric chemistry resulting in increased temperature especially in the colder regions of the northern hemisphere. Since warming of the environment can have drastic effects on terrestrial ecosystems it is important to experimentally evaluate the extent of such effects in long-term field-based experiments. In the present study we make use of both recent (short-term) and long-term geothermal warming of Icelandic soils to examine the responses of Collembola, an ecologically important group of soil invertebrates, to warming. 2. Based on metabolic scaling theory, we hypothesized that species of small size would be more successful in warmed soils than species of larger size. Further we expected that top-soil dwelling species would benefit more from warming than deep-soil dwelling species. In order to test these hypotheses we sampled Collembola along replicated gradients of increasing temperature in areas that had been heated for about six years and more than 50 years, respectively. Collembola were identified to species level, counted, and the community-weighted mean trait scores for six functional and ecological traits were calculated. 3. Results show that both short-term and long-term soil warming caused a shift towards a higher relative abundance of species with small body size. Further, abundance of top-soil dwelling Collembola tended to increase after short-term warming, but the opposite was observed after long-term warming. 4. Using trait-based diversity indices (Frich and RaoQ), we show that functional richness and diversity of Collembola communities was significantly reduced (almost halved) as a result of short-term soil warming to about 10 °C above normal, but this effect was not detected in plots equally warmed for more than 50 years. This indicates that the functional diversity of Collembola communities have high resilience towards soil warming in a long-term perspective.
Data from: Plant functional groups regulate soil respiration responses to nitrogen addition and mowing over a decade
1. Nitrogen (N) deposition and land-use practice (e.g. mowing) could have profound effects on soil respiration. However, the changes in other ecosystem components, such as plant functional groups (PFGs), may control soil carbon (C) efflux response to long term global change. 2. A 10-year (2005-2014) field experiment was conducted with both N addition (10g N m-2 yr-1) and mowing (once a year) in a northern Chinese temperate grassland. We collected continuous data on soil respiration over 10 years accompanied with data on abiotic and biotic factors, and attempted to determine (i) the temporal variation in soil respiration and its responses to N addition and mowing, (ii) the regulation of soil respiration by PFGs and the underlying long-term mechanisms of control. 3. Soil respiration varied significantly among years. This was mainly caused by changes in precipitation pattern (e.g. frequency and distribution) during the growing-season rather than total rainfall. N addition significantly suppressed soil respiration by 10.4% whereas mowing stimulated it by 8.4% over the 10 years. The interaction of N addition with mowing had little effect on soil respiration. However, the significant effects of both N addition and mowing appeared only in the third year and thereafter, indicating the differences between long- and short-term responses. These long-term effects of N addition and mowing were mainly caused by changes in the PFGs of covers (e.g. grasses and forbs) and in soil pH rather than in soil microclimate. Forb-dominant patches had greater soil respiration than grass patches owing to their higher litter quality and photosynthetic capacity. 4. Our results highlight that shifts in aboveground plant community could play an important role in regulating soil respiration responses to N addition and mowing in the long-term. This is potentially important for improving our understanding of the link between above- and belowground ecological processes.
Data from: The strength of negative plant-soil feedback increases from the intraspecific to the interspecific and the functional group level
1. One of the processes that may play a key role in plant species coexistence and ecosystem functioning is plant-soil feedback, the effect of plants on associated soil communities and the resulting feedback on plant performance. Plant-soil feedback at the interspecific level (comparing growth on own soil with growth on soil from different species) has been studied extensively, while plant-soil feedback at the intraspecific level (comparing growth on own soil with growth on soil from different accessions within a species) has only recently gained attention. Very few studies have investigated the direction and strength of feedback among different taxonomic levels, and initial results have been inconclusive, discussing phylogeny and morphology as possible determinants. 2. To test our hypotheses that the strength of negative feedback on plant performance increases with increasing taxonomic level and that this relationship is explained by morphological similarities, we conducted a greenhouse experiment using species assigned to three taxonomic levels (intraspecific, interspecific and functional group level). We measured certain fitness-related aboveground traits and used them along literature-derived traits to determine the influence of morphological similarities on the strength and direction of the feedback. 3. We found that the average strength of negative feedback increased from the intraspecific over the interspecific to the functional group level. However, individual accessions and species differed in the direction and strength of the feedback. None of our results could be explained by morphological dissimilarities or individual traits. 4. Synthesis. Our results indicate that negative plant-soil feedback is stronger if the involved plants belong to more distantly related species. We conclude that the taxonomic level is an important factor in the maintenance of plant coexistence with plant-soil feedback as a potential stabilizing mechanism and should be addressed explicitly in coexistence research, while the traits considered here seem to play a minor role.
Data from: Cyanobacteria drive community composition and functionality in rock-soil interface communities
Most ecological research on hypoliths, significant primary producers in hyperarid deserts, has focused on the diversity of individual groups of microbes (i.e. bacteria). However, microbial communities are inherently complex, and the interactions between cyanobacteria, heterotrophic bacteria, protista and metazoa, are likely to be very important for ecosystem functioning. Cyanobacterial and heterotrophic bacterial communities were analysed by pyrosequencing, while metazoan and protistan communities were assessed by T-RFLP analysis. Microbial functionality was estimated using carbon substrate utilization. Cyanobacterial community composition was significant in shaping community structure and function in hypoliths. Ecological network analysis showed that most significant co-occurrences were positive, representing potential synergistic interactions. There were several highly interconnected associations (modules) and specific cyanobacteria were important in driving the modular structure of hypolithic networks. Together, our results suggest that hypolithic cyanobacteria have strong effects on higher trophic levels and ecosystem functioning.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.