Environmental conditions influence the plant functional diversity effect on potential denitrification

Global biodiversity loss has prompted research on the relationship between species diversity and ecosystem functioning. Few studies have examined how plant diversity impacts belowground processes; even fewer have examined how varying resource levels can influence the effect of plant diversity on mic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2011-02, Vol.6 (2), p.e16584-e16584
Main Authors: Sutton-Grier, Ariana E, Wright, Justin P, McGill, Bonnie M, Richardson, Curtis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biodiversity
Biodiversity loss
Biological activity
Biology
Biomass
Carbon
Denitrification
Denitrification - physiology
Earth science
Ecology
Ecosystem
Ecosystem biology
Ecosystems
Environment
Environmental conditions
Environmental factors
Environmental impact
Environmental quality
Experiments
Flowers & plants
Grasslands
Human influences
Metabolic Networks and Pathways - physiology
Microbial activity
Microorganisms
Models, Biological
Nitrogen
Oxidation-Reduction
Plant diversity
Plant Physiological Phenomena
Plants - metabolism
Productivity
Resource availability
Soil - chemistry
Soil conditions
Soil fertility
Soil Microbiology
Soil properties
Species diversity
Studies
Variability
Wetlands
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Summary:Global biodiversity loss has prompted research on the relationship between species diversity and ecosystem functioning. Few studies have examined how plant diversity impacts belowground processes; even fewer have examined how varying resource levels can influence the effect of plant diversity on microbial activity. In a field experiment in a restored wetland, we examined the role of plant trait diversity (or functional diversity, (FD)) and its interactions with natural levels of variability of soil properties, on a microbial process, denitrification potential (DNP). We demonstrated that FD significantly affected microbial DNP through its interactions with soil conditions; increasing FD led to increased DNP but mainly at higher levels of soil resources. Our results suggest that the effect of species diversity on ecosystem functioning may depend on environmental factors such as resource availability. Future biodiversity experiments should examine how natural levels of environmental variability impact the importance of biodiversity to ecosystem functioning.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0016584