Plants and soil biota co-regulate stability of ecosystem multifunctionality under multiple environmental changes

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Environmental Science
• Soil Science

Background:

• Increasing phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) inputs, alongside soil acidification, significantly alter plant and soil biota communities and ecosystem functions.
• The impact of these community shifts on ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) and its stability under combined environmental changes remains poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of soil acidification and nutrient enrichment (N and P) on plant and soil biota community attributes.
• To explore the relationship between these community attributes and ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) stability in a semiarid grassland.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a four-year experimental dataset from a semiarid grassland on the Mongolian Plateau.
• Manipulated soil acidification, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) enrichment.
• Assessed plant and soil biota (bacteria, fungi, nematodes) community attributes (species richness, asynchrony, compositional temporal stability) and EMF stability.

Main Results:

• Plant and soil biota communities exhibited contrasting responses to nutrient enrichment under acidified and non-acidified conditions.
• Soil acidification had a more pronounced effect on community attributes and EMF stability than nutrient enrichment alone.
• Soil acidification reduced EMF mean and stability; N enrichment increased EMF mean; N and P showed positive interactive effects on EMF mean and stability.
• Plant and soil biota richness positively influenced EMF, while plant asynchrony and soil biota compositional stability determined EMF stability.

Conclusions:

• Community attributes of plants and soil biota are crucial co-regulators of EMF stability under multiple environmental changes.
• Protecting plant and soil biota biodiversity is essential for maintaining EMF and its stability, particularly in vulnerable ecosystems facing environmental change.