TY - JOUR
T1 - A hierarchical framework for studying the role of biodiversity in soil food web processes and ecosystem services
AU - Kardol, Paul
AU - Throop, Heather
AU - Adkins, Jaron
AU - Graaff, Marie Anne de
N1 - Funding Information:
P.K. acknowledges the Swedish Research Council Formas (grant no. 2013-11041-25006-23 ) for financial support and H.T. acknowledges support from the US National Science Foundation ( DEB 0953864 ). This work was also supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture ( 2012-67010-20069 ) to M.-A.G.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2016/11/1
Y1 - 2016/11/1
N2 - Soil food webs play a key role in the cycling of carbon and nutrients and in sustainably provisioning ecosystem services. Despite the tremendous diversity of organisms that soil food webs harbor, we still know surprisingly little about the role of biodiversity in influencing the processes and services provided by soil food webs. To guide future research in this area, we outline a conceptual framework linking hierarchical levels of soil biodiversity to ecosystem processes and services. Here, we distinguish among different hierarchical levels of diversity: trophic, functional, taxonomic and genetic diversity. We conclude that the levels of food web diversity that matter most vary with the processes or services considered, with functional trait diversity being the most universally influential level of diversity. Increased research emphasis on manipulating diversity across hierarchical levels of biodiversity organization, with an explicit focus on the functional role of the component species, is critical for enhancing our understanding of the role of soil food web diversity in driving ecosystem processes and services.
AB - Soil food webs play a key role in the cycling of carbon and nutrients and in sustainably provisioning ecosystem services. Despite the tremendous diversity of organisms that soil food webs harbor, we still know surprisingly little about the role of biodiversity in influencing the processes and services provided by soil food webs. To guide future research in this area, we outline a conceptual framework linking hierarchical levels of soil biodiversity to ecosystem processes and services. Here, we distinguish among different hierarchical levels of diversity: trophic, functional, taxonomic and genetic diversity. We conclude that the levels of food web diversity that matter most vary with the processes or services considered, with functional trait diversity being the most universally influential level of diversity. Increased research emphasis on manipulating diversity across hierarchical levels of biodiversity organization, with an explicit focus on the functional role of the component species, is critical for enhancing our understanding of the role of soil food web diversity in driving ecosystem processes and services.
KW - Ecosystem functioning
KW - Food web interactions
KW - Functional traits
KW - Soil biodiversity
KW - Soil fauna
KW - Soil microorganisms
KW - Trophic levels
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U2 - 10.1016/j.soilbio.2016.05.002
DO - 10.1016/j.soilbio.2016.05.002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84967239485
SN - 0038-0717
VL - 102
SP - 33
EP - 36
JO - Soil Biology and Biochemistry
JF - Soil Biology and Biochemistry
ER -