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Herbaceous plant species support soil microbial performance in deciduous temperate forests
Anna M Stefanowicz1, Paweł Kapusta1, Małgorzata Stanek1
1W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lubicz 46, 31-512 Kraków, Poland.
The Science of the Total Environment
|November 10, 2021
Summary
Herbaceous plants in temperate forests impact soil microbes but not soil chemistry. Microbial activity was highest under specific single-species herb patches, not diverse assemblages, contrary to expectations.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Soil Science
- Microbiology
Background:
- The role of herbaceous plant layers in forest soil environments is understudied.
- Forest herb layers can influence plant diversity and nutrient cycling.
- Understanding these impacts is crucial for forest ecosystem management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of mono-dominant and multi-species herbaceous plant assemblages on soil physicochemical and microbial properties.
- To compare these effects in two temperate deciduous forests (beech and riparian).
- To test the hypothesis that herbaceous plants increase microbial activity and nutrient availability, with the greatest effect in diverse assemblages.
Main Methods:
- Comparison of soil properties under mono-dominant and multi-species herb patches versus bare soil.
- Analysis of soil physicochemical properties (e.g., nutrients) and microbial properties (e.g., biomass, respiration, enzyme activity).
- Study conducted in beech and riparian temperate deciduous forests.
Main Results:
- Herbaceous plants influenced soil microbial communities and processes, especially in the riparian forest, but generally not soil physicochemical properties.
- In the beech forest, herb presence increased saprotrophic fungi biomass, fungi/bacteria ratio, and arylsulfatase activity.
- In the riparian forest, soil under *Aegopodium podagraria* showed the highest microbial activity, while bare soil had the lowest; multi-species assemblages had intermediate values.
Conclusions:
- Herbaceous plant species significantly support soil microbial communities in temperate deciduous forests.
- Soil chemical properties were not significantly affected by the presence of herbaceous plants.
- Further research is needed to explore the mechanisms (litterfall, rhizodeposition) behind the positive influence of herb plants on soil microbes.
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