Earthworms Coordinate Soil Biota to Improve Multiple Ecosystem Functions
Ting LiuXiaoyun ChenXin GongIngrid M. LubbersYangyang JiangWen FengXianping LiJoann K. WhalenMichael BonkowskiBryan S. GriffithsFeng HuManqiang Liu
118
Citation
77
Reference
10
Related Paper
Citation Trend
Keywords:
Biota
Ecosystem engineer
Ecosystem engineer
Ecosystem diversity
Cite
Citations (32)
Increasing concentration of atmospheric CO_2 has dramatic effects on plant, which could indirectly effect on soil biota and related processes in soil. Response of soil biota is important for plant and ecosystem. This paper summarized the changes of plant under elevated CO_2 and responses of soil biota and processes in soil including mycorrhiza, nodule, rhizosphere microorganisms, plant pathogen, soil fauna and decomposition. Researches which should be stressed in the future were also pointed out in the paper.
Biota
Soil ecology
Cite
Citations (1)
Ecosystem engineers, or more precisely physical ecosystem engineers, are organisms that change the abiotic environment by physically altering structure. As a consequence they often, but not always, have effects on other biota and their interactions, and on ecosystem processes. The physical ecosystem engineering concept interconnects a number of important ecological and evolutionary concepts and is particularly relevant to environmental management. In this study the use of ecosystem engineers (Pacific oysters), for the reduction or prevention of tidal flat erosion in the Oosterschelde Estuary, is investigated.
Ecosystem engineer
Biota
Ecosystem Management
Cite
Citations (0)
Plants acting as ecosystem engineers create habitats and facilitate biodiversity maintenance within plant communities. Furthermore, biodiversity research has demonstrated that plant diversity enhances the productivity and functioning of ecosystems. However, these two fields of research developed in parallel and independent from one another, with the consequence that little is known about the role of ecosystem engineers in the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning across trophic levels. Here, we present an experimental framework to study this relationship. We combine facilitation by plants acting as ecosystem engineers with plant-insect interaction analysis and variance partitioning of biodiversity effects. We present a case-study experiment in which facilitation by a cushion-plant species and a dwarf-shrub species as ecosystem engineers increases positive effects of plant functional diversity (ecosystem engineers and associated plants) on ecosystem functioning (flower visitation rate). The experiment, conducted in the field during a single alpine flowering season, included the following treatments: (1) removal of plant species associated with ecosystem engineers, (2) exclusion (covering) of ecosystem engineer flowers, and (3) control, i.e., natural patches of ecosystem engineers and associated plant species. We found both positive and negative associational effects between plants depending on ecosystem engineer identity, indicating both pollination facilitation and interference. In both cases, patches supported by ecosystem engineers increased phylogenetic and functional diversity of flower visitors. Furthermore, complementarity effects between engineers and associated plants were positive for flower visitation rates. Our study reveals that plant facilitation can enhance the strength of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships, with complementarity between plants for attracting more and diverse flower visitors being the likely driver. A potential mechanism is that synergy and complementarity between engineers and associated plants increase attractiveness for shared visitors and widen pollination niches. In synthesis, facilitation among plants can scale up to a full network, supporting ecosystem functioning both directly via microhabitat amelioration and indirectly via diversity effects.
Ecosystem engineer
Complementarity (molecular biology)
Ecosystem diversity
Cite
Citations (27)
Biota
Microcosm
Ecosystem engineer
Cite
Citations (4)
Abstract: The concept of ecosystem engineering has catalysed novel approaches and models for non-trophic species interactions and ecosystem functions. Ecosystem engineers physically modify abiotic and biotic environments, thereby creating new habitats that can be colonized by a new suite of species. In the Peruvian Amazonas, we tested whether peccaries (Tayassuidae) function as ecosystem engineers by creating and maintaining wallows. Such wallows could be critical aquatic habitats and breeding sites for anuran species during dry seasons. We compared hydroperiods of 21 peccary wallows and 13 naturally formed ponds across three dry seasons and found that wallows had a consistently higher mean water surface area than ponds. We also examined the pH, dissolved oxygen and temperature, and found no significant differences in these parameters between water bodies. Wallows had a significantly higher density of tadpoles, metamorphs and adult anurans, as well as higher β-diversity and species richness than ponds. This study not only provides the first systematic evidence of the ecosystem engineering processes of peccaries, but also reveals the positive consequences of such for anuran species.
Ecosystem engineer
Biotic component
Cite
Citations (95)
Biota
Soil ecology
Cite
Citations (87)
Ecosystem engineer
Tussock
Native plant
Cite
Citations (37)
Experimental and theoretical studies we have found that the higher the parameter radiocapacity biota in the ecosystem, the higher the level of prosperity and security of the biota in this ecosystem. It is established that a decrease in radiocapacity biota in plant ecosystem under the influence of chemical pollutants and gamma irradiation plant, clearly shows the reduction in welfare and security of the biota. It can be argued that the parameters radiocapacity able to act as a measure of the reliability of each element of the ecosystem and the ecosystem as a whole. The higher the radiocapacity factor, and / or the probability of retention of tracer in each of the elements of the ecosystem, the greater the reliability of the constituent elements of the ecosystem
Biota
Prosperity
Cite
Citations (0)
Biota
Ecological stability
Ecosystem engineer
Total human ecosystem
Cite
Citations (182)