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Biochar has been extensively studied as a soil amendment for carbon sequestration and for improving soil quality; however, a systematic understanding of the responses of soil microbial biomass and diversity to biochar addition is lacking. Here, a meta-analysis of 999 paired data points from 194 studies shows that biochar increases microbial biomass but has variable effects on microbial diversity.
Recent studies have revealed effects of various tree species on soil physical and chemical properties. However, effects of various tree species on composition and activity of soil microbiota and the relevant controls remain poorly understood. We evaluated the influence of tree species associated with two different mycorrhizal types, ectomycorrhiza (EcM) and arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), on growth, b
Parasite species evolve by switching to new hosts, cospeciating with their current hosts, or speciating on their current hosts. Vector transmitted parasites are expected to speciate by host switching, but confirming this hypothesis has proved challenging. Parasite DNA can be difficult to sequence, thus well resolved parasite phylogenies that are needed to distinguish modes of parasite speciation a
Flowering plants display an extraordinary floral- and reproductive diversity. Variation in the size, shape, colour and scent of flowers, and in systems and strategies of mating, is ubiquitous in comparisons of different species, but also exists among different conspecific populations. Diversity in these characters is central to the evolution of flowering plants and the formation of new species. In
Background: Phylogenetically closely related strains of maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacteria are often found in phylogenetically divergent, and geographically distant insect host species. The interspecies transfer of the symbiont Wolbachia has been thought to have occurred repeatedly, facilitating its observed global pandemic. Few ecological interactions have been proposed as potential rout
This study is based on the analysis of field-measured nitrous oxide (N2 O) emissions from a Sahelian semi-arid grassland site in Senegal (Dahra), tropical humid agricultural plots in Kenya (Mbita region) and simulations using a 1D model designed for semi arid ecosystems in Dahra. This study aims at improving present knowledge and inventories of N2 O emissions from the African continent. N2 O emiss
Natural habitats are rapidly declining due to urbanisation, with a concomitant decline in biodiversity in highly urbanised areas. Yet thousands of different species have colonised urban environments. These organisms are exposed to novel urban conditions, which are sometimes beneficial, but most often challenging, such as increased ambient temperature, chemicals, noise and light pollution, dietary
Theoretical and empirical studies have shown that species radiations are facilitated when a trait under divergent natural selection is also involved in sexual selection. It is yet unclear how quick and effective radiations are where assortative mating is unrelated to the ecological environment and primarily results from sexual selection. We address this question using sympatric grasshopper species
Nitrogen (N) deposition can enhance carbon (C) capture and storage in northern coniferous forests but it may also enhance the demand for phosphorus (P). While it is well established that long-term N enrichment can decrease decomposition and enhance the accumulation of C in soils, it remains uncertain if a higher demand and acquisition of P influence soil C. We studied microbial phosphorus mobiliza
Climate change affects organisms worldwide with profound ecological and evolutionary consequences, often increasing population extinction risk. Climatic factors can increase the strength, variability, or direction of natural selection on phenotypic traits, potentially driving adaptive evolution. Phenotypic plasticity in relation to temperature can allow organisms to maintain fitness in response to
Spatial downscaling is an effective way to obtain precipitation with sufficient spatial details. The performance of downscaling is typically determined by the empirical statistical relationships between precipitation and the used auxiliary variables. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive comparison of five empirical statistical methods for spatial downscaling of GPM IMERG V06B monthly and an
The rhizosphere priming effect (RPE) is increasingly being considered to be an important regulator of soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition and nutrient turnover, with potential importance for the global CO2 budget. As a result, studies on the RPE have rapidly increased in number over the last few years. Most of these experiments have been performed using unplanted soil as the control, which cou
Climate warming could destabilise the Earth's largest terrestrial store of reactive carbon (C), by accelerating the decomposition of soil organic matter. A third of that C store resides in the tropics. The potential for tropical soils to sequester C, or to act as an additional source of CO2, will depend on the balance of C inputs and outputs, mediated by the response of soil microbial communities
Soils harbor a vast diversity of soil microbiota, which play a crucial role in key ecosystem processes such as litter transformation and mineralization, but how complex plant-soil interactions shape the diversity and composition of soil microbiota remains elusive. We performed amplicon sequencing of DNA isolated from mineral topsoil of six common European trees planted in multi-site common garden
Ectomycorrhizal exploration types are commonly assumed to denote spatial foraging patterns and resource-related niches of extraradical mycelia. However, empirical evidence of the consistency of foraging strategies within exploration types is lacking. Here, we analysed ectomycorrhizal foraging patterns by incubating root-excluding ingrowth mesh bags filled with six different substrates in mature Pi
Individual plants can modify the microenvironment within their spatial neighborhood. However, the consequences of microenvironment modification for demography and species interactions remain unclear at the community scale. In a study of co-occurring alpine plants, we 1) determined the extent of species-specific microclimate modification by comparing temperature and soil moisture between vegetated
Håkan Wallander is a professor in Soil Biology and the reader is guided through the fascinating world below ground. The book has a free form and the author mixes scientific facts with personal stories from active research experiences and everyday life. The main focus is to make the reader aware of the vast biodiversity that exists in the soil, and to describe the important processes provided by th
The ratio of leaf carotenoid to chlorophyll (Car/Chl) is an indicator of vegetation photosynthesis, development and responses to stress. However, the correlation between Car and Chl, and their overlapping absorption in the visible spectral domain pose a challenge for optical remote sensing of their ratio. This study aims to investigate combinations of vegetation indices (VIs) to minimize the influ
The ecological effects of mass-flowering crops on pollinator abundance and species richness of neighbouring habitats are well established, yet the potential evolutionary consequences remain unclear. We studied effects of proximity to a mass-flowering crop on the pollination of local co-flowering plants and on patterns of natural selection on a pollination-generalised plant on the Tibetan Plateau.
Shuker points to some inconsistencies in my terminology about consequence laws in evolutionary biology, specifically that gene flow and recombination are not as easily classified as one gets the impression of after reading Sober (1984). I agree, and I also emphasize that evolutionary biology should not only focus on consequence laws, but also source laws arising from the ecological selective envir
