We studied the dominant protists found in soils across the globe and their contributions to belowground food webs.
Soil erosion is one of the main threats driving soil degradation across the globe with important impacts on crop yields, soil biota, biogeochemical cycles, and ultimately human nutrition.
ObjectivesHere, using an empirical model, we present a global and temporally explicit assessment of soil erosion risk according to recent (2001\uffe2\uff80\uff932013) dynamics of rainfall and vegetation cover change to identify vulnerable areas for soils and soil biodiversity.
MethodsWe used an adaptation of the Universal Soil Loss Equation together with state of the art remote sensing models to create a spatially and temporally explicit global model of soil erosion and soil protection. Finally, we overlaid global maps of soil biodiversity to assess the potential vulnerability of these soil communities to soil erosion.
ResultsWe show a consistent decline in soil erosion protection over time across terrestrial biomes, which resulted in a global increase of 11.7% in soil erosion rates. Notably, soil erosion risk systematically increased between 2006 and 2013 in relation to the baseline year (2001). Although vegetation cover is central to soil protection, this increase was mostly driven by changes in rainfall erosivity. Globally, soil erosion is expected not only to have an impact on the vulnerability of soil conditions but also on soil biodiversity with 6.4% (for soil macrofauna) and 7.6% (for soil fungi) of these vulnerable areas coinciding with regions with high soil biodiversity.
ConclusionsOur results indicate that an increasing proportion of soils are degraded globally, affecting not only livelihoods but also potentially degrading local and regional landscapes. Similarly, many degraded regions coincide with and may have impacted high levels of soil biodiversity.We investigated seasonal root production and root turnover of fertilized and well\uffe2\uff80\uff90watered monocultures of Phalaris for 2 years using minirhizotrons installed in six newly designed temperature gradient tunnels, combined with sequential soil coring. Elevated atmospheric CO2 treatments were combined with two cutting frequencies and three warming scenarios: no warming, +3.0/+3.0 and +2.2/+4.0\uffc2\uffb0C (day/night) atmospheric warming. The elevated CO2 treatment increased both new and net root length production primarily when combined with atmospheric warming, where the constant warming treatment had a greater positive effect than the increased night\uffe2\uff80\uff90time warming treatment. Responses to elevated CO2 were greater when the swards were cut more frequently and responsiveness varied with season. For Phalaris swards, 17% of total net primary productivity went belowground. On account of root turnover, only one\uffe2\uff80\uff90third of the new roots produced in the year following establishment could be expected, on average, to be recovered from soil cores. The interaction between the effects of CO2 and warming, combined with the differential effects of the two warming treatments, has important implications for modelling belowground responses to projected climate change.
", "keywords": ["580", "2. Zero hunger", "0106 biological sciences", "net primary production", "Minirhizotron", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "carbon dioxide enrichment", "fine root", "01 natural sciences", "Root turnover", "Keywords: belowground production", "climate change", "Defoliation", "13. Climate action", "Phalaris Biomass allocation", "Night-time warming", "Pasture", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "CO2", "Fine roots", "biomass allocation"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/54642/5/Volder_Gifford_Evans_-_Elevated_atmospheric_CO2_Phalaris.pdf.jpg"}, {"href": "https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/54642/7/01_Volder_Effects_of_elevated_2007.pdf.jpg"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2007.01321.x"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Global%20Change%20Biology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/j.1365-2486.2007.01321.x", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/j.1365-2486.2007.01321.x", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2007.01321.x"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2007-03-02T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.pedobi.2017.05.003", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:17:12Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2017-05-13", "title": "Priorities for research in soil ecology", "description": "The ecological interactions that occur in and with soil are of consequence in many ecosystems on the planet. These interactions provide numerous essential ecosystem services, and the sustainable management of soils has attracted increasing scientific and public attention. Although soil ecology emerged as an independent field of research many decades ago, and we have gained important insights into the functioning of soils, there still are fundamental aspects that need to be better understood to ensure that the ecosystem services that soils provide are not lost and that soils can be used in a sustainable way. In this perspectives paper, we highlight some of the major knowledge gaps that should be prioritized in soil ecological research. These research priorities were compiled based on an online survey of 32 editors of Pedobiologia - Journal of Soil Ecology. These editors work at universities and research centers in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia.The questions were categorized into four themes: (1) soil biodiversity and biogeography, (2) interactions and the functioning of ecosystems, (3) global change and soil management, and (4) new directions. The respondents identified priorities that may be achievable in the near future, as well as several that are currently achievable but remain open. While some of the identified barriers to progress were technological in nature, many respondents cited a need for substantial leadership and goodwill among members of the soil ecology research community, including the need for multi-institutional partnerships, and had substantial concerns regarding the loss of taxonomic expertise.", "keywords": ["0301 basic medicine", "aboveground-belowground interactions", "Biologia", "Aboveground-belowground interactions", "910", "soil processes", "soil microbial ecology", "Microbial ecology", "Novel environments", "Soil food web", "11. Sustainability", "Climate change", "0503 Soil Sciences", "Global change", "biodiversity", "ecosystem management", "2. Zero hunger", "biodiversity\u2013ecosystem functioning", "0303 health sciences", "Plant-microbe interaction", "Agronomy & Agriculture", "Soil processes", "climate change", "ekosysteemipalvelut", "Biogeography", "international", "570", "Soil management", "Ecosystem service", "Biodiversity\u2013ecosystem functioning", "0607 Plant Biology", "plant-microbe interactions", "soil biodiversity", "Chemical ecology", "Aboveground-belowground interactions; Biodiversity\u2013ecosystem functioning; Biogeography; Chemical ecology; Climate change; Ecosystem services; Global change; Microbial ecology; Novel environments; Plant-microbe interactions; Soil biodiversity; Soil food web; Soil management; Soil processes", "climatic changes", "eli\u00f6maantiede", "12. Responsible consumption", "Aboveground-belowground interaction", "03 medical and health sciences", "soil food web", "Novel environment", "XXXXXX - Unknown", "Ecosystem services", "Biology", "global change", "maaper\u00e4nsuojelu", "chemical ecology", "500", "15. Life on land", "Soil biodiversity", "biodiversiteetti", "ekosysteemit (ekologia)", "mikrobiekologia", "13. Climate action", "ilmastonmuutos", "novel environments", "ta1181", "soil management", "Plant-microbe interactions", "0703 Crop And Pasture Production"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://usiena-air.unisi.it/bitstream/11365/1134372/2/Eisenhauer_et_al_research_priorities_20170503.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedobi.2017.05.003"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Pedobiologia", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.pedobi.2017.05.003", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.pedobi.2017.05.003", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.pedobi.2017.05.003"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2017-07-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1029/2008jg000801", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:18:11Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2009-04-16", "title": "Alteration Of Belowground Carbon Dynamics By Nitrogen Addition In Southern California Mixed Conifer Forests", "description": "Nitrogen deposition rates in southern California are the highest in North America and have had substantial effects on ecosystem functioning. We document changes in the belowground C cycle near ponderosa pine trees experiencing experimental nitrogen (N) addition (50 and 150 kg N ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921a\uffe2\uff88\uff921as slow release urea since 1997) at two end\uffe2\uff80\uff90member sites along a pollution gradient in the San Bernardino Mountains, California. Despite considerable differences in N deposition between the two sites, we observed parallel changes in microbial substrate use and soil enzyme activity with N addition. \uffce\uff9414C measurements indicate that the mean age of C respired by the Oa horizon declined 10\uffe2\uff80\uff9315 years with N addition at both sites. N addition caused an increase in cellulolytic enzyme activity at the polluted site and a decrease in ligninolytic enzyme activity at the unpolluted site. Given the likely differences in lignin and cellulose ages, this could explain the difference in the age of microbial respiration with N addition. Measurements of fractionated soil organic matter did not show the same magnitude of changes in response to N addition as were observed for respired C. This lesser response was likely because the soils are mostly composed of C having turnover times of decades to centuries, and 9 years of N amendment were not enough to affect this material. Consequently, \uffce\uff9414C of respired CO2provided a more sensitive indicator of the effects of N addition than other methods. Results suggest that enhanced N deposition alone may not result in increased soil C storage in xeric ecosystems.
", "keywords": ["13. Climate action", "belowground biomass", "North America", "San Bernardino", "Coniferophyta", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "deposition", "nitrogen", "California", "United States", "enzyme activity"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Nowinski, Nicole S, Trumbore, Susan E, Jimenez, Gloria, Fenn, Mark E,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://escholarship.org/content/qt5rp5x2qk/qt5rp5x2qk.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1029/2008jg000801"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Journal%20of%20Geophysical%20Research%3A%20Biogeosciences", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1029/2008jg000801", "name": "item", "description": "10.1029/2008jg000801", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1029/2008jg000801"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2009-04-17T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1029/95gb02148", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:18:14Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2004-02-04", "title": "Belowground Cycling Of Carbon In Forests And Pastures Of Eastern Amazonia", "description": "Forests in seasonally dry areas of eastern Amazonia near Paragominas, Par\uffc3\uffa1, Brazil, maintain an evergreen forest canopy through an extended dry season by taking up soil water through deep (>1 m) roots. Belowground allocation of C in these deep\uffe2\uff80\uff90rooting forests is very large (1900 g C m\uffe2\uff88\uff922 yr\uffe2\uff88\uff921) relative to litterfall (460 g C m\uffe2\uff88\uff922 yr\uffe2\uff88\uff921). The presence of live roots drives an active carbon cycle deeper than l m in the soil. Although bulk C concentrations and 14C contents of soil organic matter at >l\uffe2\uff80\uff90m depths are low, estimates of turnover from fine\uffe2\uff80\uff90root inputs, CO2 production, and the 14C content of CO2 produced at depth show that up to 15% of the carbon inventory in the deep soil has turnover times of decades or less. Thus the amount of fast\uffe2\uff80\uff90cycling soil carbon between 1 and 8\uffe2\uff80\uff90m depths (2\uffe2\uff80\uff933 kg C m\uffe2\uff88\uff922, out of 17\uffe2\uff80\uff9318 kg C m\uffe2\uff88\uff922) is significant compared to the amount present in the upper meter of soil (3\uffe2\uff80\uff934 kg C m\uffe2\uff88\uff922 out of 10\uffe2\uff80\uff9311 kg C m\uffe2\uff88\uff922). A model of belowground carbon cycling derived from measurements of carbon stocks and fluxes, and constrained using carbon isotopes, is used to predict C fluxes associated with conversion of deep\uffe2\uff80\uff90rooting forests to pasture and subsequent pasture management. The relative proportions and turnover times of active (including detrital plant material; 1\uffe2\uff80\uff933 year turnover), slow (decadal and shorter turnover), and passive (centennial to millennial turnover) soil organic matter pools are determined by depth for the forest soil, using constraints from measurements of C stocks, fluxes, and isotopic content. Reduced carbon inputs to the soil in degraded pastures, which are less productive than the forests they replace, lead to a reduction in soil carbon inventory and \uffce\uff9414C, in accord with observations. Managed pastures, which have been fertilized with phosphorous and planted with more productive grasses, show increases in C and 14C over forest values. Carbon inventory increases in the upper meter of managed pasture soils are partially offset by predicted carbon losses due to death and decomposition of fine forest roots at depths >1 m in the soil. The major adjustments in soil carbon inventory in response to land management changes occur within the first decade after conversion. Carbon isotopes are shown to be more sensitive indicators of recent accumulation or loss of soil organic matter than direct measurement of soil C inventories.
", "keywords": ["cycling", "decomposition", "model", "rooting", "carbon", "belowground carbon cycling", "carbon cycling", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "South America", "15. Life on land", "Poaceae", "soil", "pasture", "forest", "Amazonia", "soil organic matter", "death", "tropical soil", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "phosphorus", "Brazil", "organic matter"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://escholarship.org/content/qt1zb7d8kx/qt1zb7d8kx.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1029/95gb02148"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Global%20Biogeochemical%20Cycles", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1029/95gb02148", "name": "item", "description": "10.1029/95gb02148", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1029/95gb02148"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "1995-12-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1038/s41559-018-0573-8", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:18:21Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2018-06-01", "title": "Global gaps in soil biodiversity data", "description": "International audience", "keywords": ["0301 basic medicine", "2. Zero hunger", "0303 health sciences", "aboveground-belowground", "soil biodiversity", "[SDV.BID]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity", "Biodiversity", "15. Life on land", "Invertebrates", "[SDE.BE] Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology", "Soil", "03 medical and health sciences", "macrofauna", "13. Climate action", "global patterns", "Animals", "fungi", "[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology", "bacteria", "mismatch", "Soil Microbiology", "policy", "[SDV.BID] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0573-8.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0573-8"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Nature%20Ecology%20%26amp%3B%20Evolution", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1038/s41559-018-0573-8", "name": "item", "description": "10.1038/s41559-018-0573-8", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1038/s41559-018-0573-8"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2018-06-04T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1111/j.1365-2486.2004.00729.x", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:19:30Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2004-12-24", "title": "Root Production Is Determined By Radiation Flux In A Temperate Grassland Community", "description": "AbstractAccurate knowledge of the response of root turnover to a changing climate is needed to predict growth and produce carbon cycle models. A soil warming system and shading were used to vary soil temperature and received radiation independently in a temperate grassland dominated by Holcus lanatus L. Minirhizotrons allowed root growth and turnover to be examined non\uffe2\uff80\uff90destructively. In two short\uffe2\uff80\uff90term (8 week) experiments, root responses to temperature were seasonally distinct. Root number increased when heating was applied during spring, but root death increased during autumnal heating. An experiment lasting 12 months demonstrated that any positive response to temperature was short\uffe2\uff80\uff90lived and that over a full growing season, soil warming led to a reduction in root number and mass due to increased root death during autumn and winter. Root respiration was also insensitive to soil temperature over much of the year. In contrast, root growth was strongly affected by incident radiation. Root biomass, length, birth rate, number and turnover were all reduced by shading. Photosynthesis in H. lanatus exhibited some acclimation to shading, but assimilation rates at growth irradiance were still lower in shaded plants. The negative effects of shading and soil warming on roots were additive. Comparison of root data with environmental measurements demonstrated a number of positive relationships with photosynthetically active radiation, but not with soil temperature. This was true both across the entire data set and within a shade treatment. These results demonstrate that root growth is unlikely to be directly affected by increased soil temperatures as a result of global warming, at least in temperate areas, and that predictions of net primary productivity should not be based on a positive root growth response to temperature.
", "keywords": ["Plantago lanceolata Acclimation", "Root respiration", "belowground production", "soil temperature", "warming", "Belowground net primary production", "550", "Received photosynthetically active radiation", "Root turnover", "Plantago lanceolata", "photosynthetically active radiation", "Plantago", "580", "2. Zero hunger", "Root demography", "Temperature", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "Minirhizotrons", "Keywords: acclimation", "climate change", "Holcus lanatus", "13. Climate action", "Lanceolata", "Soil warming", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "root system", "grassland", "shading", "respiration"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/495/1/fitterah10.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2004.00729.x"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Global%20Change%20Biology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/j.1365-2486.2004.00729.x", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/j.1365-2486.2004.00729.x", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2004.00729.x"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2004-01-26T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1111/1365-2745.13504", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:19:16Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2020-09-25", "title": "Invasive earthworms reduce chemical defense and increase herbivory and pathogen infection in native trees", "description": "Abstract
Recent research shows that earthworms can alter defense traits of plants against herbivores and pathogens by affecting soil biochemistry. Yet, the effects of invasive earthworms on defense traits of native plants from previously earthworm\uffe2\uff80\uff90free ecosystems as well as the consequences for multitrophic interactions are virtually unknown.
Here we use a combination of an observational study and a complementary experimental study to investigate the effects of invasive earthworms on leaf defense traits, herbivore damage and pathogen infection in two poplar tree species (Populus balsamifera and Populus tremuloides) native to North American boreal forests.
Our observational study showed that earthworm invasion was associated with enhanced leaf herbivory (by leaf\uffe2\uff80\uff90chewing insects) in saplings of both tree species. However, we only detected significant shifts in the concentration of chemical defense compounds in response to earthworm invasion for P. balsamifera. Specifically, leaf phenolic concentrations, including salicinoids and catechin, were lower in P. balsamifera from earthworm\uffe2\uff80\uff90invaded sites.
Our experimental study confirmed an earthworm\uffe2\uff80\uff90induced reduction in leaf defense levels in P. balsamifera for one of the defense compounds, tremulacin. The experimental study additionally showed that invasive earthworms reduced leaf dry matter content, potentially increasing leaf palatability, and enhanced susceptibility of trees to infection by a fungal pathogen, but not to aphid infestation, in the same tree species.
Synthesis. Our results show that invasive earthworms can decrease the concentrations of some chemical defense compounds in P. balsamifera, which could make them susceptible to leaf\uffe2\uff80\uff90chewing insects. Such potential impacts of invasive earthworms are likely to have implications for tree survival and competition, native tree biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
", "keywords": ["0106 biological sciences", "multi-trophic interactions", "secondary metabolites", "15. Life on land", "01 natural sciences", "invasion ecology", "plant\u2013herbivore interactions", "13. Climate action", "international", "physical defense", "570 Life sciences; biology", "boreal forests", "Plan_S-Compliant_TA", "Research Articles", "belowground invasion"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://boris.unibe.ch/152111/1/1365-2745.13504.pdf"}, {"href": "https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1365-2745.13504"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13504"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Journal%20of%20Ecology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/1365-2745.13504", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/1365-2745.13504", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/1365-2745.13504"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2020-10-09T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1111/1365-2745.12593", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:19:15Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2016-04-22", "title": "Drought History Affects Grassland Plant And Microbial Carbon Turnover During And After A Subsequent Drought Event", "description": "Summary
Drought periods are projected to become more severe and more frequent in many European regions. While effects of single strong droughts on plant and microbial carbon (C) dynamics have been studied in some detail, impacts of recurrent drought events are still little understood.
We tested whether the legacy of extreme experimental drought affects responses of plant and microbial C and nitrogen (N) turnover to further drought and rewetting. In a mountain grassland, we conducted a 13C pulse\uffe2\uff80\uff90chase experiment during a naturally occurring drought and rewetting event in plots previously exposed to experimental droughts and in ambient controls (AC). After labelling, we traced 13C below\uffe2\uff80\uff90ground allocation and incorporation into soil microbes using phospholipid fatty acid biomarkers.
Drought history (DH) had no effects on the standing shoot and fine root plant biomass. However, plants with experimental DH displayed decreased shoot N concentrations and increased fine root N concentrations relative to those in AC. During the natural drought, plants with DH assimilated and allocated less 13C below\uffe2\uff80\uff90ground; moreover, fine root respiration was reduced and not fuelled by fresh C compared to plants in AC.
Regardless of DH, microbial biomass remained stable during natural drought and rewetting. Although microbial communities initially differed in their composition between soils with and without DH, they responded to the natural drought and rewetting in a similar way: gram\uffe2\uff80\uff90positive bacteria increased, while fungal and gram\uffe2\uff80\uff90negative bacteria remained stable. In soils with DH, a strongly reduced uptake of recent plant\uffe2\uff80\uff90derived 13C in microbial biomarkers was observed during the natural drought, pointing to a smaller fraction of active microbes or to a microbial community that is less dependent on plant C.
Synthesis. Drought history can induce changes in above\uffe2\uff80\uff90 vs. below\uffe2\uff80\uff90ground plant N concentrations and affect the response of plant C turnover to further droughts and rewetting by decreasing plant C uptake and below\uffe2\uff80\uff90ground allocation. DH does not affect the responses of the microbial community to further droughts and rewetting, but alters microbial functioning, particularly the turnover of recent plant\uffe2\uff80\uff90derived carbon, during and after further drought periods.
", "keywords": ["0301 basic medicine", "plant-soil (below-ground) interactions", "NITROGEN TURNOVER", "Biomass Allocation", "microbial community composition", "Negibacteria", "drought", "phospholipid fatty acid", "nitrogen", "Microbial community composition", "Plant\u2013Soil (Below\u2010ground) Interactions", "Recovery", "ROOT RESPIRATION", "Plant-soil (below-ground) interactions", "CLIMATE EXTREMES", "C pulse labelling", "Below-ground carbon allocation", "2. Zero hunger", "106022 Mikrobiologie", "0303 health sciences", "SOIL INTERACTIONS", "below-ground carbon allocation", "C-13 pulse labelling", "Grassland", "6. Clean water", "Europe", "Phospholipid", "ORGANIC-MATTER", "Mountain Region", "Posibacteria", "DIOXIDE PULSES", "Phospholipid fatty acid", "106022 Microbiology", "Root/shoot Ratio", "Belowground Biomass", "Ecosystem Resilience", "Nitrogen", "Microbial Community", "Carbon Isotope", "Soil-vegetation Interaction", "recovery", "SUMMER DROUGHT", "03 medical and health sciences", "Rewetting", "Community Composition", "plant\u2013soil (below-ground) interactions", "WATER-STRESS", "resilience", "Drought", "Resilience", "RESILIENCE", "15. Life on land", "Turnover", "Microbial Activity", "13. Climate action", "Fatty Acid", "RESPONSES"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12593"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Journal%20of%20Ecology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/1365-2745.12593", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/1365-2745.12593", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/1365-2745.12593"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2016-05-24T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1111/cobi.13930", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:19:18Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2022-05-05", "title": "Challenges of and opportunities for protecting European soil biodiversity", "description": "AbstractSoil biodiversity and related ecosystem functions are neglected in most biodiversity assessments and nature conservation actions. We examined how society, and particularly policy makers, have addressed these factors worldwide with a focus on Europe and explored the role of soils in nature conservation in Germany as an example. We reviewed past and current global and European policies, compared soil ecosystem functioning in\uffe2\uff80\uff90 and outside protected areas, and examined the role of soils in nature conservation management via text analyses. Protection and conservation of soil biodiversity and soil ecosystem functioning have been insufficient. Soil\uffe2\uff80\uff90related policies are unenforceable and lack soil biodiversity conservation goals, focusing instead on other environmental objectives. We found no evidence of positive effects of current nature conservation measures in multiple soil ecosystem functions in Europe. In German conservation management, soils are considered only from a limited perspective (e.g., as physicochemical part of the environment and as habitat for aboveground organisms). By exploring policy, evidence, and management as it relates to soil ecosystems, we suggest an integrative perspective to move nature conservation toward targeting soil ecosystems directly (e.g., by setting baselines, monitoring soil threats, and establishing a soil indicator system).
", "keywords": ["0301 basic medicine", "570", "Conservation of Natural Resources", "0303 health sciences", "nature conservation", "soil biodiversity", "Biodiversity", "belowground", "Europe", "Soil", "03 medical and health sciences", "Biowissenschaften; Biologie", "Germany", "soil ecosystem functioning", "protected areas", "soil policy", "Ecosystem"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/cobi.13930"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13930"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Conservation%20Biology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/cobi.13930", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/cobi.13930", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/cobi.13930"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2022-07-19T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1111/ejss.13430", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:19:20Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2023-11-04", "title": "Effects of land use and soil properties on taxon richness and abundance of soil assemblages", "description": "AbstractLand\uffe2\uff80\uff90use change and habitat degradation are among the biggest drivers of aboveground biodiversity worldwide but their effects on soil biodiversity are less well known, despite the importance of soil organisms in developing soil structure, nutrient cycling and water drainage. Combining a global compilation of biodiversity data from soil assemblages collated as part of the PREDICTS project with global data on soil characteristics, we modelled how taxon richness and total abundance of soil organisms have responded to land use. We also estimated the global Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII)\uffe2\uff80\uff94the average abundance and compositional similarity of taxa that remain in an area, compared to a minimally impacted baseline, for soil biodiversity. This is the first time the BII has been calculated for soil biodiversity. Relative to undisturbed vegetation, soil organism total abundance and taxon richness were reduced in all land uses except pasture. Soil properties mediated the response of soil biota, but not in a consistent way across land uses. The global soil BII in cropland is, on average, a third of that originally present. However, in grazed sites the decline is less severe. The BII of secondary vegetation depends on age, with sites with younger growth showing a lower BII than mature vegetation. We conclude that land\uffe2\uff80\uff90use change has reduced local soil biodiversity worldwide, and this further supports the proposition that soil biota should be considered explicitly when using global models to estimate the state of biodiversity.The world's ecosystems are subjected to various anthropogenic global change agents, such as enrichment of atmospheric CO2 concentrations, nitrogen (N) deposition, and changes in precipitation regimes. Despite the increasing appreciation that the consequences of impending global change can be better understood if varying agents are studied in concert, there is a paucity of multi\uffe2\uff80\uff90factor long\uffe2\uff80\uff90term studies, particularly on belowground processes. Herein, we address this gap by examining the responses of soil food webs and biodiversity to enrichment of CO2, elevated N, and summer drought in a long\uffe2\uff80\uff90term grassland study at Cedar Creek, Minnesota, USA (BioCON experiment). We use structural equation modeling (SEM), various abiotic and biotic explanatory variables, and data on soil microorganisms, protozoa, nematodes, and soil microarthropods to identify the impacts of multiple global change effects on drivers belowground. We found that long\uffe2\uff80\uff90term (13\uffe2\uff80\uff90year) changes in CO2 and N availability resulted in modest alterations of soil biotic food webs and biodiversity via several mechanisms, encompassing soil water availability, plant productivity, and \uffe2\uff80\uff93 most importantly \uffe2\uff80\uff93 changes in rhizodeposition. Four years of manipulation of summer drought exerted surprisingly minor effects, only detrimentally affecting belowground herbivores and ciliate protists at elevated N. Elevated CO2 increased microbial biomass and the density of ciliates, microarthropod detritivores, and gamasid mites, most likely by fueling soil food webs with labile C. Moreover, beneficial bottom\uffe2\uff80\uff90up effects of elevated CO2 compensated for detrimental elevated N effects on soil microarthropod taxa richness. In contrast, nematode taxa richness was lowest at elevated CO2 and elevated N. Thus, enrichment of atmospheric CO2 concentrations and N deposition may result in taxonomically and functionally altered, potentially simplified, soil communities. Detrimental effects of N deposition on soil biodiversity underscore recent reports on plant community simplification. This is of particular concern, as soils house a considerable fraction of global biodiversity and ecosystem functions.
", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "protozoa", "belowground interactions", "13. Climate action", "nematodes", "aboveground interactions", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "grassland", "15. Life on land", "bioCON", "6. Clean water"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02555.x"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Global%20Change%20Biology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02555.x", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02555.x", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02555.x"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2011-10-27T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1126/sciadv.aax8787", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:19:54Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2020-01-25", "title": "The global-scale distributions of soil protists and their contributions to belowground systems", "description": "We studied the dominant protists found in soils across the globe and their contributions to belowground food webs.
Anthropogenic changes in biodiversity and atmospheric temperature significantly influence ecosystem processes. However, little is known about potential interactive effects of plant diversity and warming on essential ecosystem properties, such as soil microbial functions and element cycling. We studied the effects of orthogonal manipulations of plant diversity (one, four, and 16 species) and warming (ambient, +1.5\uffc2\uffb0C, and +3\uffc2\uffb0C) on soil microbial biomass, respiration, growth after nutrient additions, and activities of extracellular enzymes in 2011 and 2012 in the BAC (biodiversity and climate) perennial grassland experiment site at Cedar Creek, Minnesota, USA. Focal enzymes are involved in essential biogeochemical processes of the carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles. Soil microbial biomass and some enzyme activities involved in the C and N cycle increased significantly with increasing plant diversity in both years. In addition, 16\uffe2\uff80\uff90species mixtures buffered warming induced reductions in topsoil water content. We found no interactive effects of plant diversity and warming on soil microbial biomass and growth rates. However, the activity of several enzymes (1,4\uffe2\uff80\uff90\uffce\uffb2\uffe2\uff80\uff90glucosidase, 1,4\uffe2\uff80\uff90\uffce\uffb2\uffe2\uff80\uff90N\uffe2\uff80\uff90acetylglucosaminidase, phosphatase, peroxidase) depended on interactions between plant diversity and warming with elevated activities of enzymes involved in the C, N, and P cycles at both high plant diversity and high warming levels. Increasing plant diversity consistently decreased microbial biomass\uffe2\uff80\uff90specific enzyme activities and altered soil microbial growth responses to nutrient additions, indicating that plant diversity changed nutrient limitations and/or microbial community composition. In contrast to our expectations, higher plant diversity only buffered temperature effects on soil water content, but not on microbial functions. Temperature effects on some soil enzymes were greatest at high plant diversity. In total, our results suggest that the fundamental temperature ranges of soil microbial communities may be sufficiently broad to buffer their functioning against changes in temperature and that plant diversity may be a dominant control of soil microbial processes in a changing world.
", "keywords": ["aboveground-belowground interactions", "Hot Temperature", "warming", "Climate Change", "biodiversity-ecosystem functioning", "global warming", "soil microbial ecology", "Soil", "XXXXXX - Unknown", "Biomass", "global change", "Soil Microbiology", "2. Zero hunger", "microbial biomass", "grasslands", "extracellular enzymes", "Biodiversity", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Plants", "15. Life on land", "plant diversity", "Enzymes", "grassland ecosystem", "13. Climate action", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "ecosystems"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1890/14-0088.1"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Ecology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1890/14-0088.1", "name": "item", "description": "10.1890/14-0088.1", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1890/14-0088.1"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2015-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5061/dryad.5hk04", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:22:23Z", "type": "Dataset", "title": "Data from: Beyond plant-soil feedbacks: mechanisms driving plant community shifts due to land-use legacies in post-agricultural forests", "description": "unspecifiedData_Functional_Ecology_All_data_de_la_Pena_et_al_2016Each sheet contains a different data set: Sheet 1: Abiotic fators Data for abiotic soil factors i.e. pH-KCl, total nitrogen, percentage of ash rest, K, Mg, Ca, Al, P, Olsen-P, N/P ratio, percentage of organic matter OM, percentage of carbon, C/N ratio of soil samples collected at three forest sites in Flanders (Belgium): Aelmoeseneie, Doode Bemde and Muizen forest. In all sites, we compared soil conditions in ancient and postagricultural forest parcels. Sheet 2: Nematode community Nematode composition in soil samples collected in three different forest sites in Flanders (Belgium); at each site ancient parcels and post-agricultural parcels were sampled. Sheet 3: Data info of characteristics of species in the introduction experiment Data on basic plant traits of plants reintroduced in post-agricultural and ancient parcels in the Muizen forest (Belgium). For each plant we meassured: length in cm, number of stems, number of holes in leaves, number of leaves, number of leaves with signs of herbivory, proportion of leaves showing herbivory marks, herbivory index. Sheet 4: Invertebrate abundance on surveyed plants along transects in the Muizen forest, Belgium Invertebrate abundance was assessed for all plants present along 10m x 1m transects in the Muizen forest in Belgium. We compared invertebrate abundance in post-agricultural forest parcels and ancient parcels. Sheet 5: Vegetation plots Data on vegetation plots. Plots 10 x 10m. For each forest site i.e. Muizen forest, Aelmoeseneie(ALM) and Doode Bemde six parcels were sampled; 3 on ancient forest parcels and 3 on postagricultural. For each plot the understory vegetation was recorded. Sheet 6: Vegetation transects Comparison of plant species in the understory along transects in the Muizen forest. 10 transect surveys were conducted in ancient forest plots and 10 in post-agricultural. Sheet 7: Ecoplates For the characterization of the soil microbial community we used a method that measures by spectrometric quantification the utilization by microbes of different carbon substrates in microtiter plates (EcoPlates\u00ae). Here we compare mean values for soil samples taken in post-agricultural and ancient forest sites. \u2003 Sheet 8: Data experiment Urtica dioica Data on plant traits and analysis of population build-up of Aphis urticata on Urtica dioica plants growing in soil collected in post-agricultural forest parcels or in ancient forest parcels. The experiment also compared the effect of soil sterilization and provenance on plant performance by measuring plant growth (biomass, no. of runners and flowering). Sheet 9: Plant nutrient analysis Data on nitrogen and phosphorus content of harvested plants from a re-introduction experiment in ancient and post-agricultural forest parcels (in the Muizen forest, Belgium). There were four species compared i.e. Geum urbanum, Circaea lutetiana, Primula elatior and Urtica dioica. Plants were weighed after drying to constant weight at 70 \u00b0C for 48 h. Sheet 10: Data Deschampsia cespitosa experiment Data on the effect of soil sterilization (sterilized vs. non- sterile) and provenance (i.e. ancient and post-agricultural) on plant growth of Deschampsia cespitosa. Sheet 12 and Sheet 13: Population build-up of aphids on Urtica dioica and Deschampsia cespitosa", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "13. Climate action", "Primula elatior", "aboveground-belowground", "Geum urbanum", "Urtica dioica", "Phosphorus", "15. Life on land", "secondary succession", "diversity loss", "Deschampsia cespitosa", "Ciercaea lutetiana", "woodlands"], "contacts": [{"organization": "de la Pe\u00f1a, Eduardo, Baeten, Lander, Steel, Hanne, Viaene, Nicole, De Sutter, Nancy, De Schrijver, An, Verheyen, Kris,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5hk04"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5061/dryad.5hk04", "name": "item", "description": "10.5061/dryad.5hk04", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5061/dryad.5hk04"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2017-04-12T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.3389/fpls.2022.801343", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:21:41Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2022-07-14", "title": "Belowground Root Competition Alters the Grass Seedling Establishment Response to Light by a Nitrogen Addition and Mowing Experiment in a Temperate Steppe", "description": "Predicting species responses to climate change and land use practices requires understanding both the direct effects of environmental factors as well as the indirect effects mediated by changes in belowground and aboveground competition. Belowground root competition from surrounding vegetation and aboveground light competition are two important factors affecting seedling establishment. However, few studies have jointly examined the effect of belowground root and light competition on seedling establishment, especially under long-term nitrogen addition and mowing. Here, we examined how belowground root competition from surrounding vegetation and aboveground light competition affect seedling establishment within a long-term nitrogen addition and mowing experiment. Seedlings of two grasses (Stipa krylovii and Cleistogenes squarrosa) were grown with and without belowground root competition under control, nitrogen addition, and mowing treatments, and their growth characteristics were monitored. The seedlings of the two grasses achieved higher total biomass, height, mean shoot and root mass, but a lower root/shoot ratio in the absence than in the presence of belowground root competition. Nitrogen addition significantly decreased shoot biomass, root biomass, and the survival of the two grasses. Regression analyses revealed that the biomass of the two grass was strongly negatively correlated with net primary productivity under belowground root competition, but with the intercept photosynthetic active radiation in the absence of belowground root competition. This experiment demonstrates that belowground root competition can alter the grass seedling establishment response to light in a long-term nitrogen addition and mowing experiment.Earth is experiencing a substantial loss of biodiversity at the global scale, while both species gains and losses are occurring at local and regional scales. The influence of these nonrandom changes in species distributions could profoundly affect the functioning of ecosystems and the essential services that they provide. However, few experimental tests have been conducted examining the influence of species invasions on ecosystem functioning. Even fewer have been conducted using invasive ecosystem engineers, which can have disproportionately strong influence on native ecosystems relative to their own biomass. The invasion of exotic earthworms is a prime example of an ecosystem engineer that is influencing many ecosystems around the world. In particular, European earthworm invasions of northern North American forests cause simultaneous species gains and losses with significant consequences for essential ecosystem processes like nutrient cycling and crucial services to humanity like soil erosion control and carbon sequestration. Exotic earthworms are expected to select for specific traits in communities of soil microorganisms (fast-growing bacteria species), soil fauna (promoting the bacterial energy channel), and plants (graminoids) through direct and indirect effects. This will accelerate some ecosystem processes and decelerate others, fundamentally altering how invaded forests function. This project aims to investigate ecosystem responses of northern North American forests to earthworm invasion. Using a novel, synthetic combination of field observations, field experiments, lab experiments, and meta-analyses, the proposed work will be the first systematic examination of earthworm effects on (1) plant communities and (2) soil food webs and processes. Further, (3) effects of a changing climate (warming and reduced summer precipitation) on earthworm performance will be investigated in a unique field experiment designed to predict the future spread and consequences of earthworm invasion in North America. By assessing the soil chemical and physical properties as well as the taxonomic (e.g., by the latest next-generation sequencing techniques) and functional composition of plant, soil microbial and animal communities and the processes they drive in four forests, work packages I-III take complementary approaches to derive a comprehensive and generalizable picture of how ecosystems change in response to earthworm invasion. Finally, in work package IV, meta-analyses will be used to integrate the information from work packages I-III and existing literature to investigate if earthworms cause invasion waves, invasion meltdowns, habitat homogenization, and ecosystem state shifts. Global data will be synthesized to test if the relative magnitude of effects differs from place to place depending on the functional dissimilarity between native soil fauna and exotic earthworms. Moving from local to global scale, the present proposal examines the influence of earthworm invasions on biodiversity\uffe2\uff80\uff93ecosystem functioning relationships from an aboveground\uffe2\uff80\uff93belowground perspective in natural settings. This approach is highly innovative as it utilizes the invasion by exotic earthworms as an exciting model system that links invasion biology with trait-based community ecology, global change research, and ecosystem ecology, pioneering a new generation of biodiversity\uffe2\uff80\uff93ecosystem functioning research.
", "keywords": ["0106 biological sciences", "2. Zero hunger", "Science", "biodiversity-ecosystem functioning", "Q", "Aboveground-belowground interactions", "earthworms", "soil food webs", "15. Life on land", "invasion", "biodivers", "01 natural sciences", "plant communities", "biodiversity change", "13. Climate action", "11. Sustainability", "Lumbricidae", "global change"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.5.e34564"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Research%20Ideas%20and%20Outcomes", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.3897/rio.5.e34564", "name": "item", "description": "10.3897/rio.5.e34564", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.3897/rio.5.e34564"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-04-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5061/dryad.f542t16", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "unspecified", "updated": "2026-05-30T16:22:27Z", "type": "Dataset", "title": "Data from: Grazing and resource availability control soil nematode body size and abundance-mass relationship in semi-arid grassland", "description": "unspecified1. Body size is a central functional trait in ecological communities. Despite recognition of the importance of above-belowground interactions, effects of aboveground herbivores on size and abundance-size relationships in soil fauna are almost uncharted. Depending on climate and soil properties, herbivores may increase basal resources of soil food webs, or reduce pore space, mechanisms expected to have contrasting effects on soil animal body size. 2. We investigated how body size and shape of soil nematodes responded to mammalian grazers in three semi-arid grassland sites, along a gradient of soil texture and organic matter (OM) in a long-term herbivore removal study. We analysed nematode mass, length, diameter, body size distribution, and biomass distribution. We formulated two mechanistic hypotheses to assess whether resource availability or pore space was the dominant abiotic control and modulated the effects of grazing. 3. In ungrazed soils, average and maximum nematode size, as well as abundance and biomass of large nematodes, were greater in the high-OM than in the low-OM soil, and intermediate in the medium-OM soil. Grazing promoted larger sizes in the low-OM soil, where it had been shown to increase organic matter and microbial biomass, and led to more homogeneous average size and body size distribution across sites. The results support the hypothesis that nematode size was controlled by basal resource availability rather than by pore space. However, body shape might have been constrained by small pores in the fine-texture, high-OM soil, where nematodes were more elongated. 4. Grazing may facilitate larger sizes in soil nematode communities by boosting basal resources where these are limiting, with important implications for estimations of nematode biomass and contribution to carbon and nutrient cycling. These findings contribute to the insofar-limited mechanistic understanding of how herbivores can shape functional traits of soil fauna, and demonstrate that animals at one trophic level may control patterns in body size and abundance-size relationships in other trophic levels without a direct predator-prey or competitive linkage between them.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Individual size distribution", "Soil texture", "Aboveground-belowground interactions", "15. Life on land", "Mammalian herbivores", "organic matter", "Soil fauna"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Andriuzzi, Walter S., Wall, Diana H.,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.f542t16"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5061/dryad.f542t16", "name": "item", "description": "10.5061/dryad.f542t16", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5061/dryad.f542t16"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-05-17T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5061/dryad.19s12tm", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:22:20Z", "type": "Dataset", "title": "Data from: Two dimensions define the variation of fine root traits across plant communities under the joint influence of ecological succession and annual mowing", "description": "unspecifiedSoil and root trait data of roaside successional gradient in Montpellier, FranceData were collected in the field on roadsides near Montpellier, South of France. Abbreviated headlines are as follows: 'Roadside' = Roadside; 'Plot' = Plant communities on the roadsides; 'GPS_coordinates' = GPS coordinate from the selected roadsides; 'Age' = Age of the roadside in years; 'Mowing' = Mowing regime (M=Mown, U=Unmown); 'Road_Type' = Type of roadside (E=Embankment, C=Cutting); 'Clay' = Clay content in soil in %; 'Silt' = Silt content in soil in %; 'Sand' = Sand content in soil in %; 'SOC' = Soil organic content in g.kg-1; 'SoilN' = Soil total nitrogen content in g.kg-1; 'CEC' = Cationic exchange capacity in meq.kg-1; 'Soil_pH' = Soil pH in water; 'SoilP' = Soil available phosphorus in g.kg-1; 'SRL' = Specific root length in m.g-1; 'shannon' = Shannon index; 'simpson' = Simpson index; 'RNC' = Root nitrogen content in mg.g-1; 'RCC' = Root carbon content in mg.g-1; 'RDMC' = Root dry matter content in mg.g-1; 'Dm' = Mean root diameter in mm; 'RMD' = Root mass density in kg.m-3 of soil; 'graminoid' = ground cover of graminoid species in %; 'herbaceous' = ground cover of herbaceous species in %; 'shrub' = ground cover of shrub species in %; 'tree' = ground cover of tree species in %Erktan_JECol2018_.xlsx", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "root dry matter content (RDMC)", "fine root traits", "root biomass", "root nitrogen concentration (RNC)", "above-belowground trait covariation", "community-level trait values", "root economic spectrum (RES)", "15. Life on land", "specific root length (SRL)"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Erktan, Amandine, Roumet, Catherine, Bouchet, Diane, Stokes, Alexia, Pailler, Fran\u00e7ois, Munoz, Fran\u00e7ois,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.19s12tm"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5061/dryad.19s12tm", "name": "item", "description": "10.5061/dryad.19s12tm", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5061/dryad.19s12tm"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-02-19T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5061/dryad.1hn2b", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "unspecified", "updated": "2026-05-30T16:22:21Z", "type": "Dataset", "title": "Data from: Contrasting effects of nutrient enrichment on below-ground biomass in coastal wetlands", "description": "unspecifiedCoastal Wetland Belowground BiomassThese data were collected in the field in 2008 from a Sagittaria lancifolia L. dominated, oligohaline marsh located along the west bank of the Tchefuncte River, approximately 1 km north of Lake Pontchartrain, LA, USA (30\u00b0 23.205\u2019N, 90\u00b0 09.551\u2019 W). Two methods were used to estimate belowground biomass: the ingrowth method and the standing crop method. Abbreviated headings are as follows: 'Block' = statistical block; 'N' = nitrogen enrichment treatment (kg/ha/yr); 'P' = phosphorus enrichment treatment (kg/ha/yr); 'LRoot IG' = live root biomass in ingrowth cores (g/m2); 'LRhiz IG' = live rhizome biomass in ingrowth cores (g/m2); 'Live IG' = live root+rhizome biomass in ingrowth cores (g/m2); 'Dead IG' = dead root+rhizome biomass in ingrowth cores (g/m2); 'Total IG' = total live+dead biomass in ingrowth cores (g/m2); 'LRoot SC' = live root biomass in standing crop cores (g/m2); 'LRhiz SC' = live rhizome biomass in standing crop cores (g/m2); 'Live SC' = live root+rhizome biomass in standing crop cores (g/m2); 'Dead SC' = dead root+rhizome biomass in standing crop cores (g/m2); 'Total SC' = total live+dead biomass in standing crop cores (g/m2).Belowground Biomass.csv", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "nutrient enrichment", "oligohaline marsh", "13. Climate action", "belowground biomass", "ingrowth method", "Phosphorus", "14. Life underwater", "standing crop method", "15. Life on land", "6. Clean water"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Graham, Sean A., Mendelssohn, Irving A.,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1hn2b"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5061/dryad.1hn2b", "name": "item", "description": "10.5061/dryad.1hn2b", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5061/dryad.1hn2b"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2016-10-14T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5061/dryad.qz612jmp3", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:22:30Z", "type": "Dataset", "created": "2023-12-05", "title": "Soil organic carbon loss decreases biodiversity but stimulates multitrophic interactions that promote belowground metabolism", "description": "unspecified| README.txt file\u00a0 | | | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | GENERAL INFORMATION | | | | | | 1. Title of Dataset: Data from: Soil organic carbon loss decreases biodiversity but stimulates multitrophic interactions that promote belowground metabolism | | | | | | 2. Author Information: | | | First author 1 | | | Name: Ye Li | | | Institution: State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China | | | | | | Corresponding author 2 | | | Name: Zengming Chen | | | Institution: State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China | | | Email: zmchen @issas.ac.cn | | | | | | Co-author 3 | | | Name: Cameron Wagg | | | Institution: Fredericton Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Fredericton, Canada | | | | | | Co-author 4 | | | Name: Michael J. Castellano | | | Institution: Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA | | | | | | Co-author 5 | | | Name: Nan Zhang | | | Institution: State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China; School of Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, China | | | | | | Co-author 6 | | | Name: Weixin Ding | | | Institution: State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China | | | | | | 3. Date of data collection: 2019-2023 | | | | | | 4. Geographic location of data collection: Baoqing county, in the east of Heilongjiang Province, northeast China (46\u00b020\u2019N, 132\u00b012\u2019E, elevation 70-75 m). | | | | | | 5. Funding sources that supported the collection of the data: National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFD1500303), Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA28010302), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20211610), Natural Science Foundation of China (42077029, U1906220), Frontier Project from the Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ISSASIP2212), and Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences (2022313). | | | | | | 6. Recommended citation for this dataset: Li et al. (2024), Data from: Soil organic carbon loss decreases biodiversity but stimulates multitrophic interactions that promote belowground metabolism, Dryad, Dataset. | | | | | | | | | DATA FILES | | | | | | File: Belowground metabolism and SOC decomposition | | | Details: total enzyme activities, C and N/P limitations and SOC decomposition | | | | | | File: Biodiversity | | | Details: the richess, Shannon and Simpson indices | | | | | | File: Edaphic condition | | | Details: soil physicochemical factors | | | | | | File: Topological features | | | Details: Topological features of multitrophic networks | | | | | | VARIABLE LIST AND ABBREVIATION | | | | | | SOC | content of soil organic carbon | | C limitation | limitation of carbon in belowground metabolic activities calculated from vector length in enzymatic stochiometry | | P/N limitation | limitation of phosphorus or nitrogen\u00a0 in belowground metabolic activities calculated from vector angle in enzymatic stochiometry | | TN | content of total nitrogen | | TP | content oftotal phosphorus | | Zi | the sum of Z-score of enzyme activities | | C/N | ratio of soil organic matter to total nitrogen | | C/P | ratio of soil organic matter to total phosphorus | | AP | content of available phosphorus | | NH4+ | content of ammonium | | NO3- | content of nitrate | | nodes _num | the number of ASVs included in networks | | edge _number | the number of connections among all nodes | | neg _pos | the ratio of negative to positive connections | | average _degree | mean connections of all nodes with another unique node | | average _path _length | mean network distance between all paired nodes | | clustering _coefficient | the degree of nodes clumping | | betweenness _centralization | the times of a specific node acting as a bridge along the shortest path between another paired nodes | | closeness _centralization | inverse of the average distance of a specific node to any other nodes | | degree _centralization | evenness of connections among nodes in a network | | HC | samples with SOC content above 23 g C kg-1 | | LC | samples with SOC content below 23 g C kg-1 |", "keywords": ["soil organic carbon", "Mollisols", "agroecosystem", "FOS: Agricultural sciences", "multitrophic network", "Biodiversity", "carbon loss", "belowground metabolisms"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Chen, Zengming", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qz612jmp3"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5061/dryad.qz612jmp3", "name": "item", "description": "10.5061/dryad.qz612jmp3", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5061/dryad.qz612jmp3"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2023-12-20T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5061/dryad.t4b8gtj8d", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:22:31Z", "type": "Dataset", "created": "2024-02-07", "title": "Data for: Male, female and mixed-sex poplar plantations support divergent soil microbial communities", "description": "unspecifiedMixed-species forests are often more productive than monocultures because of a lower niche overlap and higher taxonomic and functional diversity of soil microbial communities. Males and females of dioecious plants have sex-specific adaptations to diverse habitats. The potential of using sexual differences in establishing more diverse poplar plantations has not been explored in degraded areas. We conducted a series of greenhouse and field experiments to investigate how belowground competition, soil microbial communities and seasonal variation nitrogen content differ among female, male and mixed-sex Populus cathayana plantations. In the greenhouse experiment, female neighbors suppressed the growth of males under optimal nitrogen conditions. However, male neighbors enhanced \u03b415N of females under inter-sexual competition. In the field, the root length density, root area density and biomass of fine roots were lower in female plantations than in male or mixed-sex plantations. Bacterial networks of female, male and mixed-sex plantations were characterized by different composition of hub nodes, including connectors, module and network hubs. The sex composition of plantations altered bacterial and fungal community structures according to Bray-Curtis distances, with 44% and 65% of variance explained by the root biomass, respectively. The total soil nitrogen content of mixed-sex plantation was higher than that in female plantation in spring and summer. The mixed-sex plantation also had a higher \u03b2-1,4-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase activity in summer and a higher nitrification rate in autumn than the other two plantations. The seasonal soil N content, nitrification rate and root distribution traits demonstrated spatiotemporal niche separation in the mixed-sex plantation. We argue that a strong female-female competition and limited nitrogen content could strongly impede plant growth and reduce the resistance of monosex plantations to climate change and the mixed-sex plantations constitutes a promising way to restore degraded land.", "keywords": ["belowground competition", "plant-microbe interactions", "neighbor sexual identity", "FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences", "microbiota assembly", "dioecious species"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Guo, Qingxue", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.t4b8gtj8d"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5061/dryad.t4b8gtj8d", "name": "item", "description": "10.5061/dryad.t4b8gtj8d", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5061/dryad.t4b8gtj8d"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2024-02-23T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5281/zenodo.10951090", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-05-30T16:23:11Z", "type": "Dataset", "title": "Fire promotes functional plant diversity and modifies soil carbon dynamics in tropical savanna", "description": "Open AccessDataset associated with the manuscript 'Fire promotes functional plant diversity and modifies soil carbon dynamics in tropical savanna' (Teixeira et al.). It includes 6 different datasets and for all datasets, we provided one metadata.We studied the dominant protists found in soils across the globe and their contributions to belowground food webs.
Land\uffe2\uff80\uff90use change and habitat degradation are among the biggest drivers of aboveground biodiversity worldwide but their effects on soil biodiversity are less well known, despite the importance of soil organisms in developing soil structure, nutrient cycling and water drainage. Combining a global compilation of biodiversity data from soil assemblages collated as part of the PREDICTS project with global data on soil characteristics, we modelled how taxon richness and total abundance of soil organisms have responded to land use. We also estimated the global Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII)\uffe2\uff80\uff94the average abundance and compositional similarity of taxa that remain in an area, compared to a minimally impacted baseline, for soil biodiversity. This is the first time the BII has been calculated for soil biodiversity. Relative to undisturbed vegetation, soil organism total abundance and taxon richness were reduced in all land uses except pasture. Soil properties mediated the response of soil biota, but not in a consistent way across land uses. The global soil BII in cropland is, on average, a third of that originally present. However, in grazed sites the decline is less severe. The BII of secondary vegetation depends on age, with sites with younger growth showing a lower BII than mature vegetation. We conclude that land\uffe2\uff80\uff90use change has reduced local soil biodiversity worldwide, and this further supports the proposition that soil biota should be considered explicitly when using global models to estimate the state of biodiversity.Predicting species responses to climate change and land use practices requires understanding both the direct effects of environmental factors as well as the indirect effects mediated by changes in belowground and aboveground competition. Belowground root competition from surrounding vegetation and aboveground light competition are two important factors affecting seedling establishment. However, few studies have jointly examined the effect of belowground root and light competition on seedling establishment, especially under long-term nitrogen addition and mowing. Here, we examined how belowground root competition from surrounding vegetation and aboveground light competition affect seedling establishment within a long-term nitrogen addition and mowing experiment. Seedlings of two grasses (Stipa krylovii and Cleistogenes squarrosa) were grown with and without belowground root competition under control, nitrogen addition, and mowing treatments, and their growth characteristics were monitored. The seedlings of the two grasses achieved higher total biomass, height, mean shoot and root mass, but a lower root/shoot ratio in the absence than in the presence of belowground root competition. Nitrogen addition significantly decreased shoot biomass, root biomass, and the survival of the two grasses. Regression analyses revealed that the biomass of the two grass was strongly negatively correlated with net primary productivity under belowground root competition, but with the intercept photosynthetic active radiation in the absence of belowground root competition. This experiment demonstrates that belowground root competition can alter the grass seedling establishment response to light in a long-term nitrogen addition and mowing experiment.