Authors
Manuel Delgado‐Baquerizo, Jeff R Powell, Kelly Hamonts, Frank Reith, Pauline Mele, Mark V Brown, Paul G Dennis, Belinda C Ferrari, Anna Fitzgerald, Andrew Young, Brajesh K Singh, Andrew Bissett
Publication date
2017/8/1
Journal
New Phytologist
Volume
215
Issue
3
Pages
1186-1196
Description
- The current theoretical framework suggests that tripartite positive feedback relationships between soil biodiversity, fertility and plant productivity are universal. However, empirical evidence for these relationships at the continental scale and across different soil depths is lacking.
- We investigate the continental‐scale relationships between the diversity of microbial and invertebrate‐based soil food webs, fertility and above‐ground plant productivity at 289 sites and two soil depths, that is 0–10 and 20–30 cm, across Australia.
- Soil biodiversity, fertility and plant productivity are strongly positively related in surface soils. Conversely, in the deeper soil layer, the relationships between soil biodiversity, fertility and plant productivity weaken considerably, probably as a result of a reduction in biodiversity and fertility with depth. Further modeling suggested that strong positive associations among soil biodiversity–fertility and …
Scholar articles
M Delgado‐Baquerizo, JR Powell, K Hamonts, F Reith… - New Phytologist, 2017