Soil multifunctionality and drought resistance are determined by plant structural traits in restoring grassland.

ABSTRACT: It is increasingly recognized that belowground responses to vegetation change are closely linked to plant functional traits. However, our understanding is limited concerning the relative importance of different plant traits for soil functions and of the mechanisms by which traits influence soil properties in the real world. Here we test the hypothesis that taller species, or those with complex rooting structures, are associated with high rates of nutrient and carbon (C) cycling in grassland. We further hypothesized that communities dominated by species with deeper roots may be more resilient to drought. These hypotheses were tested in a 3-yr grassland restoration experiment on degraded ex-arable land in southern England. We sowed three trait-based plant functional groups, assembled using d

SUBMITTER: Fry EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6849565 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature