Plant community composition determines the strength of top-down control in a soil food web motif.

ABSTRACT: Top-down control of prey by predators are magnified in productive ecosystems due to higher sustenance of prey communities. In soil micro-arthropod food webs, plant communities regulate the availability of basal resources like soil microbial biomass. Mixed plant communities are often associated with higher microbial biomass than monocultures. Therefore, top-down control is expected to be higher in soil food webs of mixed plant communities. Moreover, higher predator densities can increase the suppression of prey, which can induce interactive effects between predator densities and plant community composition on prey populations. Here, we tested the effects of predator density (predatory mites) on prey populations (Collembola) in monoculture and mixed plant communities. We hypothesized that to

SUBMITTER: Thakur MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5390908 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature