TY - JOUR

T1 - Increased frequency of drought reduces species richness of enchytraeid communities in both wet and dry heathland soils

AU - Holmstrup, Martin

AU - Sorensen, Jesper G.

AU - Maraldo, Kristine

AU - Schmidt, Inger K.

AU - Mason, Sharon

AU - Tietema, Albert

AU - Smith, Andrew R.

AU - Emmett, Bridget

AU - Schmelz, Rudiger M.

AU - Bataillon, Thomas

AU - Beier, Claus

AU - Ehlers, Bodil K.

PY - 2012/10/1

Y1 - 2012/10/1

N2 - Studies of biological responses in the terrestrial environment to rapid changes in climate have mostlybeen concerned with above-ground biota, whereas less is known of belowground organisms. The presentstudy focuses on enchytraeids (Oligochaeta) of heathland ecosystems and how the enchytraeidcommunity has responded to simulated climate change in a long-term field experiment. Either increasedtemperature or repeated drought was applied for 13 years to field plots located in Wales, TheNetherlands and Denmark representing a gradient in precipitation and annual temperature fluctuationsthereby providing an opportunity to study biological responses on a local (within sites) and regionalscale. Warming treatments increasing night-time temperature (0.5e1 C higher than ambient at 5 cmsoil depth) had no detectable effects on the enchytraeid communities. Increased intensity and frequencyof drought had rather weak persistent effects on total enchytraeid abundance suggesting that ecosystemfunctions of enchytraeids may only be transiently impacted by repeated spring or summer drought.However, drought treatment had persistent negative effects on species richness and community structureacross sites. Drought treated plots harboured only 35e65% of the species present in control plots,and the reduction of species richness was most pronounced at the driest sites. It is discussed that soilinvertebrates, due to their weak migratory potential, may be more liable to extinction under changingclimatic conditions than above-ground species, and therefore consequences of climate change to soilorganisms need particular attention in future research.

AB - Studies of biological responses in the terrestrial environment to rapid changes in climate have mostlybeen concerned with above-ground biota, whereas less is known of belowground organisms. The presentstudy focuses on enchytraeids (Oligochaeta) of heathland ecosystems and how the enchytraeidcommunity has responded to simulated climate change in a long-term field experiment. Either increasedtemperature or repeated drought was applied for 13 years to field plots located in Wales, TheNetherlands and Denmark representing a gradient in precipitation and annual temperature fluctuationsthereby providing an opportunity to study biological responses on a local (within sites) and regionalscale. Warming treatments increasing night-time temperature (0.5e1 C higher than ambient at 5 cmsoil depth) had no detectable effects on the enchytraeid communities. Increased intensity and frequencyof drought had rather weak persistent effects on total enchytraeid abundance suggesting that ecosystemfunctions of enchytraeids may only be transiently impacted by repeated spring or summer drought.However, drought treatment had persistent negative effects on species richness and community structureacross sites. Drought treated plots harboured only 35e65% of the species present in control plots,and the reduction of species richness was most pronounced at the driest sites. It is discussed that soilinvertebrates, due to their weak migratory potential, may be more liable to extinction under changingclimatic conditions than above-ground species, and therefore consequences of climate change to soilorganisms need particular attention in future research.

KW - Climate change

KW - Clitellata

KW - Oligochaeta

KW - Soil fauna

KW - Community composition

U2 - 10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.05.001

DO - 10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.05.001

M3 - Article

VL - 53

SP - 43

EP - 49

JO - Soil Biology and Biochemistry

JF - Soil Biology and Biochemistry

SN - 0038-0717

ER -