Mammal and tree diversity accumulate different types of soil organic matter in the northern Amazon
María Losada,
Antonio M. Martínez Cortizas,
Kirsten M. Silvius,
Sara Varela,
Ted K. Raab,
Jose M.V. Fragoso,
Mar Sobral
Affiliations
María Losada
CRETUS - EcoPast (GI-1553), Departmento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Bioloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Antonio M. Martínez Cortizas
CRETUS - EcoPast (GI-1553), Departmento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Bioloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
Kirsten M. Silvius
Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Sara Varela
MAPAS Lab, Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Universidade de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain
Ted K. Raab
Carnegie Institution for Science, Deparment of Global Ecology, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Jose M.V. Fragoso
Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de Brasılia, Brasılia, DF 70910-900, Brazil; Institute of Biodiversity Science and Sustainability, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
Mar Sobral
CRETUS - EcoPast (GI-1553), Departmento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Bioloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Corresponding author
Summary: Diversity of plants and animals influence soil carbon through their contributions to soil organic matter (SOM). However, we do not know whether mammal and tree communities affect SOM composition in the same manner. This question is relevant because not all forms of carbon are equally resistant to mineralization by microbes and thus, relevant to carbon storage. We analyzed the elemental and molecular composition of 401 soil samples, with relation to the species richness of 83 mammal and tree communities at a landscape scale across 4.8 million hectares in the northern Amazon. We found opposite effects of mammal and tree richness over SOM composition. Mammal diversity is related to SOM rich in nitrogen, sulfur and iron whereas tree diversity is related to SOM rich in aliphatic and carbonyl compounds. These results help us to better understand the role of biodiversity in the carbon cycle and its implications for climate change mitigation.
