Effects of grazing intensity on soil nematode community structure and function in different soil layers in a meadow steppe

• Published in: Plant and soil Vol. 471; no. 1-2; pp. 33 - 46
• Main Authors: Pan, Fengjuan, Yan, Ruirui, Zhao, Jinling, Li, Linghao, Hu, Yanfeng, Jiang, Ye, Shen, Jie, McLaughlin, Neil B., Zhao, Dan, Xin, Xiaoping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.02.2022; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abiotic factors; Abundance; Agriculture; Analysis; Biomass; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Carbon; Community structure; Composition; Ecological function; Ecology; Ecosystem components; Food chains; Food chains (Ecology); Food webs; Grasslands; Grazing; Grazing intensity; Growth; Herbivores; Life Sciences; Meadows; Metabolism; Multivariate statistical analysis; Nematoda; Nematodes; Parasites; Parasitic plants; Plant communities; Plant Physiology; Plant populations; Plant Sciences; Principal components analysis; Regular Article; Soil depth; Soil investigations; Soil layers; Soil moisture; Soil Science & Conservation; Soil structure; Steppes; Structure-function relationships; Canada; China; Community structure; Metabolic footprints; Soil nematodes; Soil food web; Grazing intensity
• ISSN: 0032-079X; 1573-5036
• DOI: 10.1007/s11104-021-05096-4

Aims Grazing is a key driver of plant communities and soil functions in grassland ecosystems. Soil nematodes play a vital role in soil ecological functions. The aim of this study was to explore how grazing shapes soil nematode community in different soil layers. Methods We investigated the composition, abundance, diversity, metabolic footprint, and food web metrics of soil nematodes over a gradient of grazing in the 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm soil layers in a meadow steppe. The relationships between nematode community structure and biotic and abiotic factors were analyzed by principal component analysis and structural equation model analysis. Results Light grazing increased the abundance of total soil nematodes by 18.5%. Intensive grazing decreased the carbon used in production and metabolic footprints of plant parasites, fungivores, and total soil nematodes in 0–10 cm soils. There was no difference in the carbon used in production and metabolic footprints of soil nematodes among different grazing intensities in the 10–20 cm soil layer. Soil moisture, aboveground biomass, belowground biomass and Shannon diversity of grass contributed more to changes in soil nematode composition in both soil layers. In the 0–10 cm soil layer, grazing directly and indirectly affected soil nematode diversity via soil moisture and aboveground biomass, while grazing directly affected soil nematode diversity in 10–20 cm soil layer. Conclusions Our results indicate that increasing soil depth can weaken the effect of grazing intensities on soil nematode fauna. Grazing affected the soil nematode community structure via different paths in different soil layers.