Soil organic matter, rather than temperature, determines the structure and functioning of subarctic decomposer communities.
Glob Chang Biol
; 28(12): 3929-3943, 2022 06.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35263490
ABSTRACT
The impacts of climate change on ecosystem structure and functioning are likely to be strongest at high latitudes due to the adaptation of biota to relatively low temperatures and nutrient levels. Soil warming is widely predicted to alter microbial, invertebrate, and plant communities, with cascading effects on ecosystem functioning, but this has largely been demonstrated over short-term (<10 year) warming studies. Using a natural soil temperature gradient spanning 10-35°C, we examine responses of soil organisms, decomposition, nitrogen cycling, and plant biomass production to long-term warming. We find that decomposer organisms are surprisingly resistant to chronic warming, with no responses of bacteria, fungi, or their grazers to temperature (fungivorous nematodes being an exception). Soil organic matter content instead drives spatial variation in microorganism abundances and mineral N availability. The few temperature effects that appear are more focused root biomass and abundance of root-feeding nematodes decrease, and nitrification increases with increasing soil temperature. Our results suggest that transient responses of decomposers and soil functioning to warming may stabilize over time following acclimation and/or adaptation, highlighting the need for long-term, ecosystem-scale studies that incorporate evolutionary responses to soil warming.
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Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Solo
/
Ecossistema
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Glob Chang Biol
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Finlândia