Coexistence between species within plant communities is a key issue in the practice of revegetation, forest management, and biodiversity conservation. Vegetation restoration is critical to control soil erosion and improve the ecological environment on the Loess Plateau. Here, we investigate the interspecific relationships of dominant plants during natural vegetation succession on the Loess Plateau. The results suggest that, under the ecological process of environmental filtering, species within communities can reduce interspecific competition and promote species coexistence via spatial heterogeneity and temporal asynchronous differences. The ecological niche overlap index (Oik) significantly and positively correlated with the strength of interspecific associations. Most species pairs had weak competition and more stable interspecific relationships. The results of the \u03c72 test showed that 317 species pairs were positively associated and 118 were negatively associated. The community is in a positive succession process, and the interaction relationship between species tends to be neutral. We should enhance the protection of positively associated species and pay attention to negatively associated species during forest management. Results revealed that Carex lanceolata Boott and Lespedeza bicolor Turcz coexisted easily with other species for mutual benefit, which could help build artificial forestland of native species to improve the ecological function.
", "keywords": ["Overlap", "2. Zero hunger", "0106 biological sciences", "Plant communities", "ecological niche; overlap; plant communities; interspecific relationship; biodiversity conservation; spatial heterogeneity", "Ecological niche", "http://metadata.un.org/sdg/15", "Spatial heterogeneity", "Interspecific relationship", "15. Life on land", "Biodiversity conservation", "Protect", " restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems", " sustainably manage forests", " combat\u00a0desertification", " and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss", "01 natural sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/9/1456/pdf"}, {"href": "https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/9/1456/pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.3390/f13091456"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Forests", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.3390/f13091456", "name": "item", "description": "10.3390/f13091456", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.3390/f13091456"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2022-09-10T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.60692/aqpen-xja81", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-22T16:21:39Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2022-12-22", "title": "Litter chemistry of common European tree species drives the feeding preference and consumption rate of soil invertebrates, and shapes the diversity and structure of gut and faecal microbiomes", "description": "Open AccessTerrestrial isopods and millipedes are key drivers of a litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems but the effects of litter chemistry on feeding preference and litter consumption rate as well as on the diversity and composition of gut and faecal microbiome still entails several challenges. We established a mesocosm experiment with terrestrial isopods (Oniscus asellus) and millipedes (Glomeris marginata) fed by leaf litter from six common European tree species (ash, maple, lime, beech, oak and Norway spruce) to reveal the effect of litter chemistry on consumption rate and feeding preference as well as on the compositions of gut and faecal microbiomes. The total percentage of consumed litter showed that O. asellus preferred nutrient-rich and labile-C litter of ash over more recalcitrant litter of oak, beech, and Norway spruce, while G. marginata preferred calcium-rich ash, maple and lime litter over beech and Norway spruce. Consumption of litter by O. asellus and G. marginata increased with concentrations of magnesium, sulphur and potassium but decreased with concentrations of iron, phosphorus, lignin, cellulose and TOC. The millipede G. marginata harboured higher bacterial OTU richness (73.5 \u00b1 12.5) than the isopod O. asellus (49.1 \u00b1 15.9), but fungal OTU richness was similar with 25.8 \u00b1 6.7 in O. asellus and 25.7 \u00b1 2.7 in G. marginata. In total, faeces of both animals hosted higher diversity than gut. In gut and faeces of O. asellus, the fungal OTU richness was highest for individuals fed by litter of Norway spruce, while lowest OTU richness was recorded for individuals fed by litter of more palatable ash. In contrast, the highest diversity of the fungal community in gut and faeces of G. marginata was recorded for individuals fed by palatable lime litter, while the lowest OTUs richness was recorded when millipedes were fed by maple and spruce. The structures of bacterial and fungal communities generally separated between O. asellus and G. marginata. The fungal community structure in gut and faeces differed between animals fed by different foliar litters, while the bacterial community structure mainly differed between gut and faeces regardless of the offered type of litter. The fungal community structure in gut and faeces of O. asellus and G. marginata were shaped by concentrations of magnesium, sulphur, lignin and cellulose. The bacterial communities in gut and faeces of both O. asellus and G. marginata were dominated by copiotrophic bacteria, while fungal communities were dominated by unspecified saprotrophs. Our study suggest that litter quality is a strong driver of feeding preference and consumption rates as well as composition of bacterial and fungal communities in gut and faeces of two species representing the main groups of litter feeding soil fauna in European forests.", "keywords": ["0301 basic medicine", "Genomic Insights into Social Insects and Symbiosis", "Plant Science", "Plant litter", "Agricultural and Biological Sciences", "03 medical and health sciences", "Biochemistry", " Genetics and Molecular Biology", "Litter", "Genetics", "Ecological Niche", "Biology", "Ecosystem", "Beech", "0303 health sciences", "Species Distribution Modeling and Climate Change Impacts", "Ecology", "Ecological Modeling", "Botany", "Life Sciences", "15. Life on land", "Plant-Parasitic Nematodes in Molecular Plant Pathology", "Detritus", "FOS: Biological sciences", "Detritivore", "Environmental Science", "Physical Sciences", "Species richness"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.60692/aqpen-xja81"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Soil%20Biology%20and%20Biochemistry", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.60692/aqpen-xja81", "name": "item", "description": "10.60692/aqpen-xja81", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.60692/aqpen-xja81"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2023-02-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10261/308712", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-22T16:21:57Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2022-09-12", "title": "Knowledge about Plant Coexistence during Vegetation Succession for Forest Management on the Loess Plateau, China", "description": "Coexistence between species within plant communities is a key issue in the practice of revegetation, forest management, and biodiversity conservation. Vegetation restoration is critical to control soil erosion and improve the ecological environment on the Loess Plateau. Here, we investigate the interspecific relationships of dominant plants during natural vegetation succession on the Loess Plateau. The results suggest that, under the ecological process of environmental filtering, species within communities can reduce interspecific competition and promote species coexistence via spatial heterogeneity and temporal asynchronous differences. The ecological niche overlap index (Oik) significantly and positively correlated with the strength of interspecific associations. Most species pairs had weak competition and more stable interspecific relationships. The results of the \u03c72 test showed that 317 species pairs were positively associated and 118 were negatively associated. The community is in a positive succession process, and the interaction relationship between species tends to be neutral. We should enhance the protection of positively associated species and pay attention to negatively associated species during forest management. Results revealed that Carex lanceolata Boott and Lespedeza bicolor Turcz coexisted easily with other species for mutual benefit, which could help build artificial forestland of native species to improve the ecological function.
", "keywords": ["Overlap", "2. Zero hunger", "0106 biological sciences", "Protect", " restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems", " sustainably manage forests", " combat desertification", " and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss", "Plant communities", "Ecological niche", "ecological niche; overlap; plant communities; interspecific relationship; biodiversity conservation; spatial heterogeneity", "http://metadata.un.org/sdg/15", "Spatial heterogeneity", "Interspecific relationship", "15. Life on land", "Biodiversity conservation", "01 natural sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/9/1456/pdf"}, {"href": "https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/9/1456/pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10261/308712"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Forests", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10261/308712", "name": "item", "description": "10261/308712", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10261/308712"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2022-09-10T00:00:00Z"}}], "links": [{"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "This document as GeoJSON", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=ecological+niche&f=json", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "alternate", "type": "text/html", "title": "This document as HTML", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=ecological+niche&f=html", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection URL", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"type": "application/geo+json", "rel": "first", "title": "items (first)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=ecological+niche&", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "last", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "items (last)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=ecological+niche&offset=4", "hreflang": "en-US"}], "numberMatched": 4, "numberReturned": 4, "distributedFeatures": [], "timeStamp": "2026-09-22T19:50:37.196771Z"}