Effects of plant species diversity on nematode community composition and diversity in a long-term biodiversity experiment.

ABSTRACT: Diversity loss has been shown to change the soil community; however, little is known about long-term consequences and underlying mechanisms. Here, we investigated how nematode communities are affected by plant species richness and whether this is driven by resource quantity or quality in 15-year-old plant communities of a long-term grassland biodiversity experiment. We extracted nematodes from 93 experimental plots differing in plant species richness, and measured above- and belowground plant biomass production and soil organic carbon concentrations (C_org) as proxies for resource quantity, as well as C/N_leaf ratio and specific root length (SRL) as proxies for resource quality. We found that nematode community composition and diversity significantly differed among plan

SUBMITTER: Dietrich P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8505370 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature