Soil food web structure is fundamental to ecosystem process and function; most studies on soil food web structure have focused on agro-ecosystems under different management practices and natural terrestrial ecosystems...Soil food web structure is fundamental to ecosystem process and function; most studies on soil food web structure have focused on agro-ecosystems under different management practices and natural terrestrial ecosystems,but seldom on greenhouses. This study explored the static and temporal variability of soil food structure in two greenhouses of Shandong Province,North China over a two-year period. The static properties were measured directly by surveying functional group composition and a series of parameters portraying the species properties,link properties,chain properties and omnivory properties of the web,as well as indirectly through calculation of nematode indices,enrichment index(EI),structure index(SI),and channel index(CI). The dynamic variability of greenhouse soil food structure was described by the dynamics of functional groups,Bray-Curtis(BC) similarity and cluster analysis. The results showed that the greenhouse soil food web contained 14 functional groups,with microbes having the highest mean biomass,followed by protozoa. Of the three functional groups of protozoa,flagellates were the dominant group on most sampling dates,amoebae only became the dominant group during the summer,while ciliates were the least prevalent group. All nematodes were assigned into one of the four functional groups,bacterivorous,fungivorous,herbivorous and omnivorous,and the fungivorous nematodes had the lowest mean biomass. Mites were assigned into three functional groups and the omnivorous noncryptostigmatic mites were the dominant group. All the functional groups showed significant seasonal changes. The soil food web connectance was 0.15,the maximum food chain length was 5,and the average food chain length was 3.6. The profiles of the EI and SI showed that the food web was resourcedepleted with minimal structure. The results of CI indicated that the bacterial decomposition pathway was the dominant pathway in the food web of the greenhouse soils studied and the results of BC similarity showed that the soil food web had higher variability and instability over time. The cluster analysis showed that the functional groups located at high trophic levels with low biomass were in a cluster,whereas those at low trophic levels with high biomass were closer. Compared with the food web structure of agroecosystem and natural terrestrial ecosystem soils,the structure of greenhouse soil food web was simple and unstable,which was likely driven by high agricultural intensification,particularly over application of fertilizers.展开更多
Elm （Ulmus pumila）, widely distributed in the north temperate zone, contributes to a special savanna-like woodland in typical grassland region in the northeastern China. This woodland performs a variety of ecologica...Elm （Ulmus pumila）, widely distributed in the north temperate zone, contributes to a special savanna-like woodland in typical grassland region in the northeastern China. This woodland performs a variety of ecological functions and environmental signifi- cance, such as decreasing soil erosion, stabilizing sand dunes, preserving species diversity. However, in the last approximate 30 years, the species composition, productivity and distribution area of elm woodland has decreased severely. A series of studies have been carried out to find out whether the climate changes or human disturbances caused the degradation of elm woodland and how these factors af- fected elm woodland. In this study, undisturbed, plowing and grazing elm woodland were investigated in 1983 and 2011 by using Point-Centered Quarter method. The relationship between vegetation changes and environmental factors was analyzed by Bray-Curtis ordination. The results show that in 2011, species diversity and understory productivity of undisturbed elm woodland decrease slightly compared to those of undisturbed elm woodland in 1983. However, nearly 60% of the species is lost in the plowing and grazing elm woodland relative to the species undisturbed elm woodland in 1983. Interestingly, plowing stimulates the growth of elm and certain understory species through furrowing soil and accelerating soil nutrient turnover rate. Grazing disturbance not only leads to species loss and productivity decrease, but also induces changes in elm growth （small, short and twisted）. The mean age of the elm was 29 -4- 2 yr in undisturbed and plowing elm woodland, while only 15 yr in the grazing elm woodland. The results of Bray-Curtis ordination analysis show that all sample stands clustered to three groups： Group I including the undisturbed sample stands of 83UE （undisturbed elm wood- land in 1983） and l lUE （undisturbed elm woodland in 2011）; Group II including sample stands of PE （elm woodland disturbed by plowing）; Group III including samples stands of GE （elm woodland disturbed by grazing）. The results indicate that the long time distur- bance of the plowing and grazing have converted elm woodland to different community types. Climate change is not the primary reason causing the degradation of elm woodland, but plowing and grazing disturbance. Both plowing and grazing decrease the vegetation composition and species diversity. Grazing further decreases vegetation productivity and inhibits the growth of elm tree. Therefore, we suggest that reasonable plowing and exclusive grazing would be favorable for future regeneration of degraded elm woodland.展开更多
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.40901116)
文摘Soil food web structure is fundamental to ecosystem process and function; most studies on soil food web structure have focused on agro-ecosystems under different management practices and natural terrestrial ecosystems,but seldom on greenhouses. This study explored the static and temporal variability of soil food structure in two greenhouses of Shandong Province,North China over a two-year period. The static properties were measured directly by surveying functional group composition and a series of parameters portraying the species properties,link properties,chain properties and omnivory properties of the web,as well as indirectly through calculation of nematode indices,enrichment index(EI),structure index(SI),and channel index(CI). The dynamic variability of greenhouse soil food structure was described by the dynamics of functional groups,Bray-Curtis(BC) similarity and cluster analysis. The results showed that the greenhouse soil food web contained 14 functional groups,with microbes having the highest mean biomass,followed by protozoa. Of the three functional groups of protozoa,flagellates were the dominant group on most sampling dates,amoebae only became the dominant group during the summer,while ciliates were the least prevalent group. All nematodes were assigned into one of the four functional groups,bacterivorous,fungivorous,herbivorous and omnivorous,and the fungivorous nematodes had the lowest mean biomass. Mites were assigned into three functional groups and the omnivorous noncryptostigmatic mites were the dominant group. All the functional groups showed significant seasonal changes. The soil food web connectance was 0.15,the maximum food chain length was 5,and the average food chain length was 3.6. The profiles of the EI and SI showed that the food web was resourcedepleted with minimal structure. The results of CI indicated that the bacterial decomposition pathway was the dominant pathway in the food web of the greenhouse soils studied and the results of BC similarity showed that the soil food web had higher variability and instability over time. The cluster analysis showed that the functional groups located at high trophic levels with low biomass were in a cluster,whereas those at low trophic levels with high biomass were closer. Compared with the food web structure of agroecosystem and natural terrestrial ecosystem soils,the structure of greenhouse soil food web was simple and unstable,which was likely driven by high agricultural intensification,particularly over application of fertilizers.
基金Under the auspices of the Seventh Framework Programme(European Commission,No.226818)National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.31070294,31072070,31100331)
文摘Elm （Ulmus pumila）, widely distributed in the north temperate zone, contributes to a special savanna-like woodland in typical grassland region in the northeastern China. This woodland performs a variety of ecological functions and environmental signifi- cance, such as decreasing soil erosion, stabilizing sand dunes, preserving species diversity. However, in the last approximate 30 years, the species composition, productivity and distribution area of elm woodland has decreased severely. A series of studies have been carried out to find out whether the climate changes or human disturbances caused the degradation of elm woodland and how these factors af- fected elm woodland. In this study, undisturbed, plowing and grazing elm woodland were investigated in 1983 and 2011 by using Point-Centered Quarter method. The relationship between vegetation changes and environmental factors was analyzed by Bray-Curtis ordination. The results show that in 2011, species diversity and understory productivity of undisturbed elm woodland decrease slightly compared to those of undisturbed elm woodland in 1983. However, nearly 60% of the species is lost in the plowing and grazing elm woodland relative to the species undisturbed elm woodland in 1983. Interestingly, plowing stimulates the growth of elm and certain understory species through furrowing soil and accelerating soil nutrient turnover rate. Grazing disturbance not only leads to species loss and productivity decrease, but also induces changes in elm growth （small, short and twisted）. The mean age of the elm was 29 -4- 2 yr in undisturbed and plowing elm woodland, while only 15 yr in the grazing elm woodland. The results of Bray-Curtis ordination analysis show that all sample stands clustered to three groups： Group I including the undisturbed sample stands of 83UE （undisturbed elm wood- land in 1983） and l lUE （undisturbed elm woodland in 2011）; Group II including sample stands of PE （elm woodland disturbed by plowing）; Group III including samples stands of GE （elm woodland disturbed by grazing）. The results indicate that the long time distur- bance of the plowing and grazing have converted elm woodland to different community types. Climate change is not the primary reason causing the degradation of elm woodland, but plowing and grazing disturbance. Both plowing and grazing decrease the vegetation composition and species diversity. Grazing further decreases vegetation productivity and inhibits the growth of elm tree. Therefore, we suggest that reasonable plowing and exclusive grazing would be favorable for future regeneration of degraded elm woodland.
