e-journal
Species identity influences belowground arthropod assemblages via functional traits
Abstract.
Plant species influence belowground communities in a variety of ways, ultimately impacting nutrient
cycling. Functional plant traits provide a means whereby species identity can influence belowground community
interactions, but little work has examined whether species identity influences belowground community processes
when correcting for evolutionary history. Specifically, we hypothesized that closely related species would exhibit (i) more similar leaf and root functional traits than more distantly related species, and (ii) more similar associated soil arthropod communities. We found that after correcting for evolutionary history, tree species identity influenced belowground arthropod communities through plant functional traits. These data suggest that plant species structure may be an important predictor in shaping associated soil arthropod communities and further suggest the importance of better understanding the extended consequences of evolutionary history on ecological processes, as similarity in traits may not always reflect similar ecology.
Keywords: Belowground processes; community similarity; functional plant traits; soil macroinvertebrates; soils;
species identity.
Tidak ada salinan data
Tidak tersedia versi lain