Loading…

The positive effect of plant diversity on soil carbon depends on climate

Little is currently known about how climate modulates the relationship between plant diversity and soil organic carbon and the mechanisms involved. Yet, this knowledge is of crucial importance in times of climate change and biodiversity loss. Here, we show that plant diversity is positively correlat...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2023-10, Vol.14 (1), p.6624-6624, Article 6624
Main Authors: Spohn, Marie, Bagchi, Sumanta, Biederman, Lori A., Borer, Elizabeth T., Bråthen, Kari Anne, Bugalho, Miguel N., Caldeira, Maria C., Catford, Jane A., Collins, Scott L., Eisenhauer, Nico, Hagenah, Nicole, Haider, Sylvia, Hautier, Yann, Knops, Johannes M. H., Koerner, Sally E., Laanisto, Lauri, Lekberg, Ylva, Martina, Jason P., Martinson, Holly, McCulley, Rebecca L., Peri, Pablo L., Macek, Petr, Power, Sally A., Risch, Anita C., Roscher, Christiane, Seabloom, Eric W., Stevens, Carly, Veen, G. F. (Ciska), Virtanen, Risto, Yahdjian, Laura
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Little is currently known about how climate modulates the relationship between plant diversity and soil organic carbon and the mechanisms involved. Yet, this knowledge is of crucial importance in times of climate change and biodiversity loss. Here, we show that plant diversity is positively correlated with soil carbon content and soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio across 84 grasslands on six continents that span wide climate gradients. The relationships between plant diversity and soil carbon as well as plant diversity and soil organic matter quality (carbon-to-nitrogen ratio) are particularly strong in warm and arid climates. While plant biomass is positively correlated with soil carbon, plant biomass is not significantly correlated with plant diversity. Our results indicate that plant diversity influences soil carbon storage not via the quantity of organic matter (plant biomass) inputs to soil, but through the quality of organic matter. The study implies that ecosystem management that restores plant diversity likely enhances soil carbon sequestration, particularly in warm and arid climates. Soil carbon content is positively related with plant diversity in global grasslands, and this relationship is particularly strong in warm and arid climates. Plant diversity is related to soil carbon via the quality of organic matter.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-023-42340-0