Belowground energy fluxes determine tree diversity effects on above- and belowground food webs

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftForschungsartikelBeigetragenBegutachtung

Beitragende

  • Huimin Yi - , Deutsches Zentrum für integrative Biodiversitätsforschung (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Universität Leipzig (Autor:in)
  • Olga Ferlian - , Deutsches Zentrum für integrative Biodiversitätsforschung (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Universität Leipzig (Autor:in)
  • Benoit Gauzens - , Deutsches Zentrum für integrative Biodiversitätsforschung (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena (Autor:in)
  • Roberto Rebollo - , ETH Zürich (Autor:in)
  • Stefan Scheu - , Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (Autor:in)
  • Angelos Amyntas - , Deutsches Zentrum für integrative Biodiversitätsforschung (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena (Autor:in)
  • Marcel Ciobanu - , Romanian Academy (Autor:in)
  • Anton Potapov - , Professur für Funktionelle Bodenbiodiversitätsforschung (gB/SMNG), Deutsches Zentrum für integrative Biodiversitätsforschung (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Senckenberg Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz (Autor:in)
  • Jörg Alfred Salamon - , Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover (TiHo) (Autor:in)
  • Nico Eisenhauer - , Deutsches Zentrum für integrative Biodiversitätsforschung (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Universität Leipzig (Autor:in)

Abstract

Worldwide tree diversity loss raises concerns about functional and energetic declines across trophic levels. In this study, we coupled 160 above- and belowground food webs, quantifying energy fluxes to microorganisms and invertebrates in a tree-mycorrhiza diversity experiment, to test how tree diversity affects fluxes of energy above and below the ground. The experiment differentiates three mycorrhizal type treatments: only AM tree species (with arbuscular mycorrhizae), only EcM tree species (with ectomycorrhizae; one, two, and four tree species), or mixtures of both AM and EcM tree species (AM+EcM; two and four tree species). Our results indicate that most energy initially flowed through belowground communities, with soil microorganisms contributing 97.7% of total energy and belowground fauna accounting for 60.9% of energy to animals. Consequently, belowground fauna fueled surface (62.3% of predation) and aboveground (30.5% of predation) predators. Tree diversity increased ecosystem multifunctionality (indicated by total and averaged energy fluxes) by ∼30% and energy across most trophic levels in EcM tree communities, while it shifted food webs from fast (such as bacterial-dominated) to slow (such as fungal-dominated) channels in AM tree communities. Tree diversity primarily impacted energy fluxes through belowground communities and strengthened the coupling of above- and belowground food webs, with increasing importance of belowground prey for predators at the soil surface and above the ground. These findings highlight that tree diversity and mycorrhizal types drive above- and belowground ecosystem functioning via belowground energy fluxes.

Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Seiten (von - bis)1870-1882.e6
FachzeitschriftCurrent biology
Jahrgang35
Ausgabenummer8
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - 21 Apr. 2025
Peer-Review-StatusJa

Externe IDs

PubMed 40209707

Schlagworte

Schlagwörter

  • above- and belowground interactions, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, biodiversity loss, biodiversity-ecosystem functioning, ectomycorrhizal fungi, food web, multifunctionality, multitrophic diversity, soil biodiversity