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The Positive Effects of Trophic Interactions in Soil

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Interactions in Soil: Promoting Plant Growth

Part of the book series: Biodiversity, Community and Ecosystems ((BECO,volume 1))

Abstract

The feedbacks between plants and their soil communities determine primary production and moderates the ecosystem services they both provide. Feedbacks can be perceived as positive or negative, but historically, the greatest attention has be given to the role of negative feedbacks in shaping plant production and community development. Although we understand the role of mycorrhizae and bacterial symbionts fairly well, fewer studies have addressed the role of positive feedbacks and facilitation associated with trophic interactions and food web activity. Due to the close spatial scale of rhizosphere food webs, they function more like a cycle than a linear food chain. This results in consumer mediated nutrient cycling that frequently feeds back positively on plant production even when considering herbivory as an isolated process. Herbivores enrich the environment by increasing organic matter and high quality mineral nutrients to the soil. A process mediated by the stoichiometric imbalance between consumers and resources. Likewise, the functional and taxonomic biodiversity of food webs in soils will understandably affect the degree of positive feedbacks to plant production. This is important to consider in an increasingly human dominated world. It is possible that community composition and functioning in disturbed environments is driven to a greater degree by positive rather than negative feedbacks. In this environment, soils will play an essential role in maintaining ecosystem health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Molecular Biology, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, 07043, USA

    Jennifer Adams Krumins

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The State University of New Jersey, Pinelands Field Station, Rutgers, New Lisbon, New Jersey, USA

    John Dighton

  2. Dept. of Biology and Molecular Biology, Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey, USA

    Jennifer Adams Krumins

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Krumins, J.A. (2014). The Positive Effects of Trophic Interactions in Soil. In: Dighton, J., Krumins, J. (eds) Interactions in Soil: Promoting Plant Growth. Biodiversity, Community and Ecosystems, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8890-8_4

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