title: Impacts of soil faunal community composition on model grassland ecosystems.
abstract: Human impacts, including global change, may alter the composition of soil faunal communities, but consequences for ecosystem functioning are poorly understood. We constructed model grassland systems in the Ecotron controlled environment facility and manipulated soil community composition through assemblages of different animal body sizes. Plant community composition, microbial and root biomass, decomposition rate, and mycorrhizal colonization were all markedly affected. However, two key ecosystem processes, aboveground net primary productivity and net ecosystem productivity, were surprisingly resistant to these changes. We hypothesize that positive and negative faunal-mediated effects in soil communities cancel each other out, causing no net ecosystem effects.
authors.affiliation: Natural Environment Research Council Centre for Population Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Imperial College at Silwood Park, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK. m.a.bradford@ic.ac.uk
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bradford
authors.forename: T H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Bardgett
authors.forename: H I J
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Black
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Boag
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bonkowski
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Eggers
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Gange
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Grayston
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kandeler
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: McCaig
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Newington
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Prosser
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Setälä
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Staddon
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Tordoff
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tscherko
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lawton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development; D018533:Biomass; D001824:Body Constitution; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism; D018504:Ecological Systems, Closed; D017753:Ecosystem; D004777:Environment; D005658:Fungi / Q000254:growth & development; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D010788:Photosynthesis; D063245:Plant Development; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism; D006109:Poaceae / Q000254:growth & development; D011156:Population Density; D012987:Soil; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D002244:Carbon