Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://dx.doi.org/10.25673/115289
Title: Climate-dependent plant responses to earthworms in two land-use types
Author(s): Liu, Qun
Eisenhauer, NicoLook up in the Integrated Authority File of the German National Library
Scheu, StefanLook up in the Integrated Authority File of the German National Library
Angst, Gerrit
Bücker, Miriam
Huang, YuanyuanLook up in the Integrated Authority File of the German National Library
Meador, TravisLook up in the Integrated Authority File of the German National Library
Schädler, MartinLook up in the Integrated Authority File of the German National Library
Issue Date: 2024
Type: Article
Language: English
Abstract: Plant nutrient uptake and productivity are driven by a multitude of factors that have been modified by human activities, like climate change and the activity of decomposers. However, interactive effects of climate change and key decomposer groups like earthworms have rarely been studied. In a field microcosm experiment, we investigated the effects of a mean future climate scenario with warming (+ 0.50 °C to + 0.62 °C) and altered precipitation (+ 10% in spring and autumn, − 20% in summer) and earthworms (anecic—two Lumbricus terrestris, endogeic—four Allolobophora chlorotica and both together within 10 cm diameter tubes) on plant biomass and stoichiometry in two land-use types (intensively used meadow and conventional farming). We found little evidence for earthworm effects on aboveground biomass. However, future climate increased above- (+40.9%) and belowground biomass (+44.7%) of grass communities, which was mainly driven by production of the dominant Festulolium species during non-summer drought periods, but decreased the aboveground biomass (− 36.9%) of winter wheat. Projected climate change and earthworms interactively affected the N content and C:N ratio of grasses. Earthworms enhanced the N content (+1.2%) thereby decreasing the C:N ratio (− 4.1%) in grasses, but only under ambient climate conditions. The future climate treatment generally decreased the N content of grasses (aboveground: − 1.1%, belowground: − 0.15%) and winter wheat (− 0.14%), resulting in an increase in C:N ratio of grasses (aboveground: + 4.2%, belowground: +6.3%) and wheat (+5.9%). Our results suggest that climate change diminishes the positive effects of earthworms on plant nutrient uptakes due to soil water deficit, especially during summer drought.
URI: https://opendata.uni-halle.de//handle/1981185920/117244
http://dx.doi.org/10.25673/115289
Open Access: Open access publication
License: (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0(CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
Journal Title: Oecologia
Publisher: Springer
Publisher Place: Berlin
Volume: 204
Original Publication: 10.1007/s00442-023-05493-9
Page Start: 133
Page End: 146
Appears in Collections:Open Access Publikationen der MLU

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat 
s00442-023-05493-9.pdf1.32 MBAdobe PDFThumbnail
View/Open