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Tree community resource economics control soil food web multifunctionality.
Ludovic Henneron1,2, David A Wardle3, Matty P Berg4,5
1Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden. ludovic.henneron1@univ-rouen.fr.
Nature
|May 6, 2026
Summary
Plant traits, specifically resource economics, significantly influence soil food web multifunctionality in European forests. Resource-acquisitive trees enhance soil functions, while tree mixtures can negatively impact them.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Forest Science
- Soil Science
Background:
- Plants are crucial for terrestrial ecosystem functioning, influencing microclimates and primary production that fuels food webs.
- The impact of plant community properties on ecosystem functioning via food web energy fluxes, particularly in soil food webs, is understudied.
- Soil food webs channel a significant portion of plant-derived energy, making their functioning critical for ecosystem health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how plant community properties, specifically the resource economics of dominant tree species, affect soil food web multifunctionality.
- To understand the mechanisms driving these effects, including litter quality and microclimate.
- To compare the influence of tree species composition on soil food webs with biogeographic factors and assess diversity effects.
Main Methods:
- Applied a food web energetics approach to analyze soil food web functioning in European forests.
- Compared soil food web multifunctionality in tree communities dominated by resource-acquisitive versus resource-conservative species.
- Assessed the effects of tree species mixtures versus single-species stands on soil food web functioning and microclimate.
Main Results:
- Tree communities dominated by resource-acquisitive species exhibited faster rates of soil trophic functions compared to those with resource-conservative species.
- Higher-quality litter and warmer microclimates associated with resource-acquisitive species increased soil organism metabolic activity.
- Tree species composition was a major driver of soil food web multifunctionality, comparable to biogeographic location; tree mixtures showed negative effects.
Conclusions:
- Plant functional traits related to resource economics are key drivers of soil food web functioning.
- Shifts in tree community composition, potentially driven by climate change, can significantly alter forest soil functioning.
- Diversity effects on aboveground biomass production may contrast with those on belowground soil food web functioning.
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