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Soil acidity, ecological stoichiometry and allometric scaling in grassland food webs
Author(s) -
MULDER CHRISTIAN,
ELSER JAMES J.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
global change biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.146
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1365-2486
pISSN - 1354-1013
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2009.01899.x
Subject(s) - trophic level , biomass (ecology) , ecosystem , ecological stoichiometry , environmental science , ecology , biogeochemical cycle , grassland , nutrient cycle , invertebrate , benthic zone , allometry , phosphorus , food web , bioturbation , soil biology , soil ecology , nutrient , soil biodiversity , biology , soil fertility , soil water , chemistry , paleontology , organic chemistry , sediment
The factors regulating the structure of food webs are a central focus of community and ecosystem ecology, as trophic interactions among species have important impacts on nutrient storage and cycling in many ecosystems. For soil invertebrates in grassland ecosystems in the Netherlands, the site‐specific slopes of the faunal biomass to organism body mass relationships reflected basic biochemical and biogeochemical processes associated with soil acidity and soil C : N : P stoichiometry. That is, the higher the phosphorus availability in the soil, the higher, on average, the slope of the faunal biomass size spectrum (i.e., the higher the biomass of large‐bodied invertebrates relative to the biomass of small invertebrates). While other factors may also be involved, these results are consistent with the growth rate hypothesis from biological stoichiometry that relates phosphorus demands to ribosomal RNA and protein production. Thus our data represent the first time that ecosystem phosphorus availability has been associated with allometry in soil food webs (supporting information available online). Our results have broad implications, as soil invertebrates of different size have different effects on soil processes.