Soil Communities Promote Temporal Stability and Species Asynchrony in Experimental Grassland Communities.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Over the past two decades many studies have demonstrated that plant species diversity promotes primary productivity and stability in grassland ecosystems. Additionally, soil community characteristics have also been shown to influence the productivity and composition of plant communities, yet little is known about whether soil communities also play a role in stabilizing the productivity of an ecosystem.

Methodology/principal findings

Here we use microcosms to assess the effects of the presence of soil communities on plant community dynamics and stability over a one-year time span. Microcosms were filled with sterilized soil and inoculated with either unaltered field soil or field soil sterilized to eliminate the naturally occurring soil biota. Eliminating the natur

SUBMITTER: Pellkofer S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4734741 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature