Although the role played by phylogeny in the assembly of plant communities remains as a priority to complete the theory of species coexistence, experimental evidence is lacking. It is still unclear to what extent phylogenetic diversity is a driver or a consequence of species assembly processes. We experimentally explored how phylogenetic diversity can drive the community level responses to drought conditions in annual plant communities. We manipulated the initial phylogenetic diversity of the assemblages and the water availability in a common garden experiment with two irrigation treatments: average natural rainfall and drought, formed with annual plant species of gypsum ecosystems of Central Spain. We recorded plant survival and the numbers of flowering and fruiting plants per species in each assemblage. GLMMs were performed for the proportion of surviving, flowering, fruiting plants per species and for total proportion of surviving species and plants per pot. In water limited conditions, high phylogenetic diversity favored species coexistence over time with higher plant survival and more flowering and fruiting plants per species and more species and plants surviving per pot. Our results agree with the existence of niche complementarity and the convergence of water economy strategies as major mechanisms for promoting species coexistence in plant assemblages in semiarid Mediterranean habitats. Our findings point to high phylogenetic diversity among neighboring plants as a plausible feature underpinning the coexistence of species, because the success of each species in terms of surviving and producing offspring in drought conditions was greater when the initial phylogenetic diversity was higher. Our study is a step forward to understand how phylogenetic relatedness is connected to the mechanisms determining the maintenance of biodiversity. Recent metaanalyses suggest biodiversity loss affects the functioning of ecosystems to a similar extent as other global environmental change agents. However, the abundance and functioning of soil organisms have been hypothesized to be much less responsive to such changes, particularly in plant diversity, than aboveground variables, although tests of this hypothesis are extremely rare. We examined the responses of soil food webs (soil microorganisms, nematodes, microarthropods) to 13-y manipulation of multiple environmental factors that are changing at global scales\uffe2\uff80\uff94specifically plant species richness, atmospheric CO 2 , and N deposition\uffe2\uff80\uff94in a grassland experiment in Minnesota. Plant diversity was a strong driver of the structure and functioning of soil food webs through several bottom-up (resource control) effects, whereas CO 2 and N only had modest effects. We found few interactions between plant diversity and CO 2 and N, likely because of weak interactive effects of those factors on resource availability (e.g., root biomass). Plant diversity effects likely were large because high plant diversity promoted the accumulation of soil organic matter in the site\uffe2\uff80\uff99s sandy, organic matter\uffe2\uff80\uff93poor soils. Plant diversity effects were not explained by the presence of certain plant functional groups. Our results underline the prime importance of plant diversity loss cascading to soil food webs (density and diversity of soil organisms) and functions. Because the present results suggest prevailing plant diversity effects and few interactions with other global change drivers, protecting plant diversity may be of high priority to maintain the biodiversity and functioning of soils in a changing world.
", "keywords": ["580", "2. Zero hunger", "0301 basic medicine", "Food Chain", "Nitrogen", "Climate Change", "Minnesota", "Biodiversity", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Carbon Dioxide", "15. Life on land", "Poaceae", "Soil", "03 medical and health sciences", "13. Climate action", "XXXXXX - Unknown", "Linear Models", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Biomass"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1217382110"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Proceedings%20of%20the%20National%20Academy%20of%20Sciences", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1073/pnas.1217382110", "name": "item", "description": "10.1073/pnas.1217382110", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1073/pnas.1217382110"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2013-04-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1079/ber2004347", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-22T16:17:22Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2005-05-04", "title": "Abundance, Dispersion And Parasitism Of The Stem Borer Busseola Fusca (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) In Maize In The Humid Forest Zone Of Southern Cameroon", "description": "AbstractThis study was conducted in the humid forest zone of Cameroon, in 2002 and 2003. The main objective was to investigate the effects of intercropping on infestation levels and parasitism of the noctuid maize stem borer Busseola fusca Fuller. Two trials were planted per year, one during the long and one during the short rainy season. Maize monocrops were compared with maize/legume or maize/cassava intercrops in two spatial arrangements: maize on alternate hills or in alternate rows. Spatial analyses showed that the stemborer egg batches were regularly dispersed in the maize monocrop and aggregated in the intercrops, as indicated by b, the index of dispersion of Taylor's power law. Depending on the crop association and planting pattern, intercrops reduced the percentage of plants with stem borer eggs by 47.4\uffe2\uff80\uff9358.4% and egg densities by 41.2\uffe2\uff80\uff9354.5% compared to monocropped maize. Consequently, larval densities were 44.4\uffe2\uff80\uff9361.5% lower in intercrops compared to monocrops. Intercropping maize with non-host plants did not affect larval parasitism. Up to two-fold higher levels of egg parasitism by scelionid Telenomus spp. were recorded in inter- compared to monocrops during the short rainy seasons of 2002 and 2003. No differences were found among the mixed cropping treatments and parasitism was lower during the long compared to the short rainy seasons. It was proposed that differences in levels of parasitism were due to density dependence effects rather than the effect of the presence of non-host plants in the system.
", "keywords": ["Crops", " Agricultural", "Population Density", "2. Zero hunger", "0106 biological sciences", "Tropical Climate", "Wasps", "Agriculture", "Moths", "15. Life on land", "Zea mays", "01 natural sciences", "Larva", "Linear Models", "Animals", "Cameroon", "Seasons", "Ovum"], "contacts": [{"organization": "A. Chabi-Olaye, Christian Nolte, Christian Borgemeister, Fritz Schulthess,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1079/ber2004347"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Bulletin%20of%20Entomological%20Research", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1079/ber2004347", "name": "item", "description": "10.1079/ber2004347", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1079/ber2004347"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2005-04-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1111/j.1469-8137.2012.04050.x", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-22T16:17:59Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2012-01-31", "title": "Direct And Indirect Influences Of 8 Yr Of Nitrogen And Phosphorus Fertilization On Glomeromycota In An Alpine Meadow Ecosystem", "description": "We measured the influences of soil fertility and plant community composition on Glomeromycota, and tested the prediction of the functional equilibrium hypothesis that increased availability of soil resources will reduce the abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. Communities of plants and AM fungi were measured in mixed roots and in Elymus nutans roots across an experimental fertilization gradient in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. As predicted, fertilization reduced the abundance of Glomeromycota as well as the species richness of plants and AM fungi. The response of the glomeromycotan community was strongly linked to the plant community shift towards dominance by Elymus nutans. A reduction in the extraradical hyphae of AM fungi was associated with both the changes in soil factors and shifts in the plant community composition that were caused by fertilization. Our findings highlight the importance of soil fertility in regulating both plant and glomeromycotan communities, and emphasize that high fertilizer inputs can reduce the biodiversity of plants and AM fungi, and influence the sustainability of ecosystems.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Elymus", "Nitrogen", "Hyphae", "Phosphorus", "Biodiversity", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Spores", " Fungal", "15. Life on land", "Tibet", "Soil", "Species Specificity", "13. Climate action", "Mycorrhizae", "Linear Models", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Biomass", "Fertilizers", "Glomeromycota", "Ecosystem"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2012.04050.x"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/New%20Phytologist", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/j.1469-8137.2012.04050.x", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/j.1469-8137.2012.04050.x", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2012.04050.x"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2012-01-31T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1111/nph.15120", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-22T16:18:04Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2018-04-02", "title": "Biocrust\u2010forming mosses mitigate the impact of aridity on soil microbial communities in drylands: observational evidence from three continents", "description": "Summary
Recent research indicates that increased aridity linked to climate change will reduce the diversity of soil microbial communities and shift their community composition in drylands, Earth's largest biome. However, we lack both a theoretical framework and solid empirical evidence of how important biotic components from drylands, such as biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses, will regulate the responses of microbial communities to expected increases in aridity with climate change.
Here we report results from a cross\uffe2\uff80\uff90continental (North America, Europe and Australia) survey of 39 locations from arid to humid ecosystems, where we evaluated how biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses regulate the relationship between aridity and the community composition and diversity of soil bacteria and fungi in dryland ecosystems.
Increasing aridity was negatively related to the richness of fungi, and either positively or negatively related to the relative abundance of selected microbial phyla, when biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses were absent. Conversely, we found an overall lack of relationship between aridity and the relative abundance and richness of microbial communities under biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses.
Our results suggest that biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses mitigate the impact of aridity on the community composition of globally distributed microbial taxa, and the diversity of fungi. They emphasize the importance of maintaining biocrusts as a sanctuary for soil microbes in drylands.
Recent research indicates that increased aridity linked to climate change will reduce the diversity of soil microbial communities and shift their community composition in drylands, Earth's largest biome. However, we lack both a theoretical framework and solid empirical evidence of how important biotic components from drylands, such as biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses, will regulate the responses of microbial communities to expected increases in aridity with climate change.
Here we report results from a cross\uffe2\uff80\uff90continental (North America, Europe and Australia) survey of 39 locations from arid to humid ecosystems, where we evaluated how biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses regulate the relationship between aridity and the community composition and diversity of soil bacteria and fungi in dryland ecosystems.
Increasing aridity was negatively related to the richness of fungi, and either positively or negatively related to the relative abundance of selected microbial phyla, when biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses were absent. Conversely, we found an overall lack of relationship between aridity and the relative abundance and richness of microbial communities under biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses.
Our results suggest that biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses mitigate the impact of aridity on the community composition of globally distributed microbial taxa, and the diversity of fungi. They emphasize the importance of maintaining biocrusts as a sanctuary for soil microbes in drylands.
Recent research indicates that increased aridity linked to climate change will reduce the diversity of soil microbial communities and shift their community composition in drylands, Earth's largest biome. However, we lack both a theoretical framework and solid empirical evidence of how important biotic components from drylands, such as biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses, will regulate the responses of microbial communities to expected increases in aridity with climate change.
Here we report results from a cross\uffe2\uff80\uff90continental (North America, Europe and Australia) survey of 39 locations from arid to humid ecosystems, where we evaluated how biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses regulate the relationship between aridity and the community composition and diversity of soil bacteria and fungi in dryland ecosystems.
Increasing aridity was negatively related to the richness of fungi, and either positively or negatively related to the relative abundance of selected microbial phyla, when biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses were absent. Conversely, we found an overall lack of relationship between aridity and the relative abundance and richness of microbial communities under biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses.
Our results suggest that biocrust\uffe2\uff80\uff90forming mosses mitigate the impact of aridity on the community composition of globally distributed microbial taxa, and the diversity of fungi. They emphasize the importance of maintaining biocrusts as a sanctuary for soil microbes in drylands.
Although the role played by phylogeny in the assembly of plant communities remains as a priority to complete the theory of species coexistence, experimental evidence is lacking. It is still unclear to what extent phylogenetic diversity is a driver or a consequence of species assembly processes. We experimentally explored how phylogenetic diversity can drive the community level responses to drought conditions in annual plant communities. We manipulated the initial phylogenetic diversity of the assemblages and the water availability in a common garden experiment with two irrigation treatments: average natural rainfall and drought, formed with annual plant species of gypsum ecosystems of Central Spain. We recorded plant survival and the numbers of flowering and fruiting plants per species in each assemblage. GLMMs were performed for the proportion of surviving, flowering, fruiting plants per species and for total proportion of surviving species and plants per pot. In water limited conditions, high phylogenetic diversity favored species coexistence over time with higher plant survival and more flowering and fruiting plants per species and more species and plants surviving per pot. Our results agree with the existence of niche complementarity and the convergence of water economy strategies as major mechanisms for promoting species coexistence in plant assemblages in semiarid Mediterranean habitats. Our findings point to high phylogenetic diversity among neighboring plants as a plausible feature underpinning the coexistence of species, because the success of each species in terms of surviving and producing offspring in drought conditions was greater when the initial phylogenetic diversity was higher. Our study is a step forward to understand how phylogenetic relatedness is connected to the mechanisms determining the maintenance of biodiversity.Although the role played by phylogeny in the assembly of plant communities remains as a priority to complete the theory of species coexistence, experimental evidence is lacking. It is still unclear to what extent phylogenetic diversity is a driver or a consequence of species assembly processes. We experimentally explored how phylogenetic diversity can drive the community level responses to drought conditions in annual plant communities. We manipulated the initial phylogenetic diversity of the assemblages and the water availability in a common garden experiment with two irrigation treatments: average natural rainfall and drought, formed with annual plant species of gypsum ecosystems of Central Spain. We recorded plant survival and the numbers of flowering and fruiting plants per species in each assemblage. GLMMs were performed for the proportion of surviving, flowering, fruiting plants per species and for total proportion of surviving species and plants per pot. In water limited conditions, high phylogenetic diversity favored species coexistence over time with higher plant survival and more flowering and fruiting plants per species and more species and plants surviving per pot. Our results agree with the existence of niche complementarity and the convergence of water economy strategies as major mechanisms for promoting species coexistence in plant assemblages in semiarid Mediterranean habitats. Our findings point to high phylogenetic diversity among neighboring plants as a plausible feature underpinning the coexistence of species, because the success of each species in terms of surviving and producing offspring in drought conditions was greater when the initial phylogenetic diversity was higher. Our study is a step forward to understand how phylogenetic relatedness is connected to the mechanisms determining the maintenance of biodiversity.