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Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter

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Published on: March 12, 2013

Pedogenesis shapes predator-prey relationships within soil microbiomes.

Wu Xiong¹, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo², Qirong Shen¹

¹Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-saving Fertilizers, Laboratory of Bio-interactions and Crop Health, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.

The Science of the Total Environment

|March 11, 2022

Summary

Soil development (pedogenesis) enriches protist diversity and alters predator-prey dynamics. Microbial biomass, not environment, drives predatory protist accumulation, impacting soil food webs.

Keywords:

Chronosequences Microbial biomass Microbiome Predator-prey relationships Protistan predators Soil formation

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Area of Science:

Soil Science
Microbiology
Ecology

Background:

Pedogenesis shapes soil properties and biodiversity, influencing microbial communities.
Protists regulate soil microbiomes, but pedogenesis effects on protists and their predator-prey links are unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate pedogenesis impact on protistan communities.
Examine predator-prey relationships between protists and soil microbes across soil ages.

Main Methods:

Analyzed 435 soil samples across pedogenic stages (centuries to millennia).
Assessed protistan group diversity and richness.
Quantified interrelationships between protist predators and microbial prey biomass.

Main Results:

Protist diversity increased with pedogenesis; phototrophic protists enriched in medium-aged soils.
Predatory protist richness rose with pedogenesis, driven by microbial biomass.
Predator-prey associations were stronger in younger soils, weakening as prey biomass increased in older soils.

Conclusions:

Pedogenesis differentially shapes protist predators and prey, altering predator-prey dynamics.
Understanding these shifts is crucial for soil food web development and ecosystem functions.