title: Choice of resolution by functional trait or taxonomy affects allometric scaling in soil food webs.
abstract: Belowground organisms often display a shift in their mass-abundance scaling relationships due to environmental factors such as soil chemistry and atmospheric deposition. Here we present new empirical data that show strong differences in allometric scaling according to whether the resolution at the local scale is based on a taxonomic or a functional classification, while only slight differences arise according to soil environmental conditions. For the first time, isometry (an inverse 1:1 proportion) is recognized in mass-abundance relationships, providing a functional signal for constant biomass distribution in soil biota regardless of discrete trophic levels. Our findings are in contrast to those from aquatic ecosystems, in that higher trophic levels in soil biota are not a direct function of increasing body mass.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, 3720BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sechi
authors.forename: Lijbert
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brussaard
authors.forename: Ron G M
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: De Goede
authors.forename: Michiel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rutgers
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mulder
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D018533:Biomass; D058448:Biota; D017753:Ecosystem; D020387:Food Chain; D065948:Grassland; D009426:Netherlands; D011156:Population Density; D012987:Soil; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D012987:Soil