Ecosystem Response

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Franciska T De Vries - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • plant root exudation under drought implications for Ecosystem functioning
    2020
    Co-Authors: Alex Williams, Franciska T De Vries
    Abstract:

    Root exudates are a pathway for plant-microbial communication and play a key role in Ecosystem Response to environmental change. Here, we collate recent evidence that shows that plants of different growth strategies differ in their root exudation, that root exudates can select for beneficial soil microbial communities, and that drought affects the quantity and quality of root exudation. We use this evidence to argue for a central involvement of root exudates in plant and microbial Response to drought and propose a framework for understanding how root exudates influence Ecosystem form and function during and after drought. Specifically, we propose that fast-growing plants modify their root exudates to recruit beneficial microbes that facilitate their regrowth after drought, with cascading impacts on their abundance and Ecosystem functioning. We identify outstanding questions and methodological challenges that need to be addressed to advance and solidify our comprehension of the importance of root exudates in Ecosystem Response to drought.

  • changes in root exudate induced respiration reveal a novel mechanism through which drought affects Ecosystem carbon cycling
    2019
    Co-Authors: Alex Williams, Fiona Stringer, Robert Willcocks, Holly Langridge, Franciska T De Vries, Rosie Mcewing, Angela L Straathof
    Abstract:

    - Root exudates play an important role in Ecosystem Response to climate change, but the functional consequences of drought‐induced changes in the quality of root exudates are unknown. Here, we addressed this knowledge gap in a unique experimental approach. - We subjected two common grassland species that differ widely in their growth strategies and root systems, the grass Holcus lanatus and the forb Rumex acetosa, to 2 wk of drought. We collected root exudates and soils at the end of the drought and after 2 wk of recovery and readded all root exudates to all soils in a fully reciprocal set‐up to measure root‐exudate‐induced respiration. - We found that soil treatment was unimportant for determining root‐exudate‐induced respiration. By contrast, root exudates collected from plants that had experienced drought clearly triggered more soil respiration than exudates from undroughted plants. Importantly, this increased respiration compensated for the lower rates of root exudation in droughted plants. - Our findings reveal a novel mechanism through which drought can continue to affect Ecosystem carbon cycling, and a potential plant strategy to facilitate regrowth through stimulating microbial activity. These findings have important implications for understanding plant and Ecosystem Response to drought.

Alexandre Buttler - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • linking soil microbial communities to vascular plant abundance along a climate gradient
    2015
    Co-Authors: Luca Bragazza, Edward A D Mitchell, Alexandre Buttler, Richard D Bardgett
    Abstract:

    The ongoing expansion of shrub cover in Response to climate change represents a unique opportunity to explore the link between soil microbial communities and vegetation changes. This link is particularly important in peatlands where shrub expansion is expected to feed back negatively on the carbon sink capacity of these Ecosystems. Microbial community structure and function were measured seasonally in four peatlands located along an altitude gradient representing a natural gradient of climate and associated vascular plant abundance. We show that increased soil temperature and reduced water content are associated with greater vascular plant biomass, in particular that of ericoids, and that this, in turn, is correlated with greater microbial biomass. More specifically, microbial community structure is characterized by an increasing dominance of fungi over bacteria with improved soil oxygenation. We also found that the carbon and nitrogen stoichiometry of microbial biomass differs in relation to soil microbial community structure and that this is ultimately associated with a different investment in extracellular enzymatic activity. Our findings highlight the fact that the determination of the structural identity of microbial communities can help to explain the biogeochemical dynamics of organic matter and provide a better understanding of Ecosystem Response to environmental changes.

Alex Williams - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • plant root exudation under drought implications for Ecosystem functioning
    2020
    Co-Authors: Alex Williams, Franciska T De Vries
    Abstract:

    Root exudates are a pathway for plant-microbial communication and play a key role in Ecosystem Response to environmental change. Here, we collate recent evidence that shows that plants of different growth strategies differ in their root exudation, that root exudates can select for beneficial soil microbial communities, and that drought affects the quantity and quality of root exudation. We use this evidence to argue for a central involvement of root exudates in plant and microbial Response to drought and propose a framework for understanding how root exudates influence Ecosystem form and function during and after drought. Specifically, we propose that fast-growing plants modify their root exudates to recruit beneficial microbes that facilitate their regrowth after drought, with cascading impacts on their abundance and Ecosystem functioning. We identify outstanding questions and methodological challenges that need to be addressed to advance and solidify our comprehension of the importance of root exudates in Ecosystem Response to drought.

  • changes in root exudate induced respiration reveal a novel mechanism through which drought affects Ecosystem carbon cycling
    2019
    Co-Authors: Alex Williams, Fiona Stringer, Robert Willcocks, Holly Langridge, Franciska T De Vries, Rosie Mcewing, Angela L Straathof
    Abstract:

    - Root exudates play an important role in Ecosystem Response to climate change, but the functional consequences of drought‐induced changes in the quality of root exudates are unknown. Here, we addressed this knowledge gap in a unique experimental approach. - We subjected two common grassland species that differ widely in their growth strategies and root systems, the grass Holcus lanatus and the forb Rumex acetosa, to 2 wk of drought. We collected root exudates and soils at the end of the drought and after 2 wk of recovery and readded all root exudates to all soils in a fully reciprocal set‐up to measure root‐exudate‐induced respiration. - We found that soil treatment was unimportant for determining root‐exudate‐induced respiration. By contrast, root exudates collected from plants that had experienced drought clearly triggered more soil respiration than exudates from undroughted plants. Importantly, this increased respiration compensated for the lower rates of root exudation in droughted plants. - Our findings reveal a novel mechanism through which drought can continue to affect Ecosystem carbon cycling, and a potential plant strategy to facilitate regrowth through stimulating microbial activity. These findings have important implications for understanding plant and Ecosystem Response to drought.

Luca Bragazza - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • linking soil microbial communities to vascular plant abundance along a climate gradient
    2015
    Co-Authors: Luca Bragazza, Edward A D Mitchell, Alexandre Buttler, Richard D Bardgett
    Abstract:

    The ongoing expansion of shrub cover in Response to climate change represents a unique opportunity to explore the link between soil microbial communities and vegetation changes. This link is particularly important in peatlands where shrub expansion is expected to feed back negatively on the carbon sink capacity of these Ecosystems. Microbial community structure and function were measured seasonally in four peatlands located along an altitude gradient representing a natural gradient of climate and associated vascular plant abundance. We show that increased soil temperature and reduced water content are associated with greater vascular plant biomass, in particular that of ericoids, and that this, in turn, is correlated with greater microbial biomass. More specifically, microbial community structure is characterized by an increasing dominance of fungi over bacteria with improved soil oxygenation. We also found that the carbon and nitrogen stoichiometry of microbial biomass differs in relation to soil microbial community structure and that this is ultimately associated with a different investment in extracellular enzymatic activity. Our findings highlight the fact that the determination of the structural identity of microbial communities can help to explain the biogeochemical dynamics of organic matter and provide a better understanding of Ecosystem Response to environmental changes.

Cosimo Solidoro - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • the mediterranean pelagic Ecosystem Response to physical forcing
    1999
    Co-Authors: A Crise, J. W. Baretta, J I Allen, G Crispi, Renzo Mosetti, Cosimo Solidoro
    Abstract:

    The effects of physical forcing on pelagic Ecosystem are studied using numerical models, in which ecological and physical processes are coupled. The implications of the mathematical formulation of coupling are discussed, outlining the different parameterisation in combining spatial and temporal scales. Existing 3D and 1D numerical models of the Mediterranean Sea are presented. The results are used to assess the respective roles of light and nutrients in limiting phytoplankton growth and to suggest that the East‐West trophic gradient in Mediterranean is the result of the superposition of biological pump and estuarine inverse circulation. © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.