1. Nematodes enhance plant growth and nutrient uptake under C and N-rich conditions
- Author
-
Hanne Steel, David Buchan, Stefaan De Neve, Mesfin Tsegaye Gebremikael, and Wim Bert
- Subjects
Agriculture and Food Sciences ,0106 biological sciences ,ROOT-GROWTH ,Nematoda ,SOIL MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES ,01 natural sciences ,nitrogen ,ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI ,Soil ,Nutrient ,FREE-LIVING NEMATODES ,FEEDING NEMATODES ,Biomass ,NITROGEN MINERALIZATION ,Soil Microbiology ,2. Zero hunger ,chemistry.chemical_classification ,Multidisciplinary ,plants ,Ecology ,food and beverages ,HOST PLANTS ,04 agricultural and veterinary sciences ,Plants ,ORGANIC-MATTER ,GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEMS ,PLFA ,microbes ,phosphorous ,Nutrient cycle ,Nitrogen ,Soil biology ,Biology ,complex mixtures ,Article ,Animals ,Ecosystem ,Organic matter ,Nitrogen cycle ,Plant Physiological Phenomena ,Soil organic matter ,Mineralization (soil science) ,15. Life on land ,Carbon ,Agronomy ,chemistry ,Earth and Environmental Sciences ,nematodes ,040103 agronomy & agriculture ,0401 agriculture, forestry, and fisheries ,PARASITIC NEMATODES ,010606 plant biology & botany - Abstract
The role of soil fauna in crucial ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling remains poorly quantified, mainly because of the overly reductionistic approach adopted in most experimental studies. Given that increasing nitrogen inputs in various ecosystems influence the structure and functioning of soil microbes and the activity of fauna, we aimed to quantify the role of the entire soil nematode community in nutrient mineralization in an experimental set-up emulating nutrient-rich field conditions and accounting for crucial interactions amongst the soil microbial communities and plants. To this end, we reconstructed a complex soil foodweb in mesocosms that comprised largely undisturbed native microflora and the entire nematode community added into defaunated soil, planted with Lolium perenne as a model plant, and amended with fresh grass-clover residues. We determined N and P availability and plant uptake, plant biomass and abundance and structure of the microbial and nematode communities during a three-month incubation. The presence of nematodes significantly increased plant biomass production (+9%), net N (+25%) and net P (+23%) availability compared to their absence, demonstrating that nematodes link below- and above-ground processes, primarily through increasing nutrient availability. The experimental set-up presented allows to realistically quantify the crucial ecosystem services provided by the soil biota.
- Published
- 2016
- Full Text
- View/download PDF