Dara for: Functional traits of plant roots and Collembola determine their tri-trophic interactions with soil microbes
Description
Traditionally, leaf litter has been recognized as the main driver of the soil food web, but more recently roots have been shown to play an important role in fueling soil organisms. Root functional traits were shown to have direct effects on microbes and Nematoda, but many black boxes remain such as the effects of root traits on Collembola. Here, in a microcosm experiment, we studied the tri-trophic interactions between roots, microbes and Collembola in relation to ten plant species individually. Our results showed that plant species identity can drive variability in Collembola community structure, and this variability is best explained by root traits and microbial communities. Collembola feeding traits based on mandibular morphology were useful to identify top-down control on microbial communities. Our study also suggests that root traits such as fine root length and root diameter modify Collembola-microbe interactions, probably by modifying soil porosity. Overall, we obtained better results by looking at the whole system, rather than looking at bi-trophic interactions. This illustrates the importance of a holistic approach when studying biotic interactions in soil ecosystems. The data set included: - Collembola species abundance / microcosms - PLFA (phospholipid fatty acids) of microbes / microcosms - Functional traits value of plant roots - Functional trait value of Collembola - Soil chemical data