Nature Communications (Oct 2023)
The positive effect of plant diversity on soil carbon depends on climate
- Marie Spohn,
- Sumanta Bagchi,
- Lori A. Biederman,
- Elizabeth T. Borer,
- Kari Anne Bråthen,
- Miguel N. Bugalho,
- Maria C. Caldeira,
- Jane A. Catford,
- Scott L. Collins,
- Nico Eisenhauer,
- Nicole Hagenah,
- Sylvia Haider,
- Yann Hautier,
- Johannes M. H. Knops,
- Sally E. Koerner,
- Lauri Laanisto,
- Ylva Lekberg,
- Jason P. Martina,
- Holly Martinson,
- Rebecca L. McCulley,
- Pablo L. Peri,
- Petr Macek,
- Sally A. Power,
- Anita C. Risch,
- Christiane Roscher,
- Eric W. Seabloom,
- Carly Stevens,
- G. F. (Ciska) Veen,
- Risto Virtanen,
- Laura Yahdjian
Affiliations
- Marie Spohn
- Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)
- Sumanta Bagchi
- Indian Institute of Science
- Lori A. Biederman
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University
- Elizabeth T. Borer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota
- Kari Anne Bråthen
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT – Arctic University of Norway
- Miguel N. Bugalho
- Centre for Applied Ecology “Prof. Baeta Neves” (CEABN-InBIO), School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon
- Maria C. Caldeira
- Forest Research Centre, Associate Laboratory TERRA, School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon
- Jane A. Catford
- Department of Geography, King’s College London
- Scott L. Collins
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico
- Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
- Nicole Hagenah
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria
- Sylvia Haider
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
- Yann Hautier
- Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University
- Johannes M. H. Knops
- Health and Environmental Sciences, Xián Jiaotong-Liverpool University
- Sally E. Koerner
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Greensboro
- Lauri Laanisto
- Department of Biodiversity and Nature Tourism, Estonian University of Life Sciences
- Ylva Lekberg
- MPG Ranch and University of Montana
- Jason P. Martina
- Department of Biology, Texas State University
- Holly Martinson
- Department of Biology, McDaniel College
- Rebecca L. McCulley
- Department of Plant & Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky
- Pablo L. Peri
- National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA), Rio Gallegos
- Petr Macek
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences
- Sally A. Power
- Haweksbury Institute for the Environment
- Anita C. Risch
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
- Christiane Roscher
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
- Eric W. Seabloom
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota
- Carly Stevens
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University
- G. F. (Ciska) Veen
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology
- Risto Virtanen
- Ecology & Genetics, University of Oulu
- Laura Yahdjian
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA), CONICET, Faculty of Agronomy, University of Buenos Aires
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42340-0
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 14,
no. 1
pp. 1 – 10
Abstract
Abstract Little is currently known about how climate modulates the relationship between plant diversity and soil organic carbon and the mechanisms involved. Yet, this knowledge is of crucial importance in times of climate change and biodiversity loss. Here, we show that plant diversity is positively correlated with soil carbon content and soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio across 84 grasslands on six continents that span wide climate gradients. The relationships between plant diversity and soil carbon as well as plant diversity and soil organic matter quality (carbon-to-nitrogen ratio) are particularly strong in warm and arid climates. While plant biomass is positively correlated with soil carbon, plant biomass is not significantly correlated with plant diversity. Our results indicate that plant diversity influences soil carbon storage not via the quantity of organic matter (plant biomass) inputs to soil, but through the quality of organic matter. The study implies that ecosystem management that restores plant diversity likely enhances soil carbon sequestration, particularly in warm and arid climates.
