Plant - soil fauna interactions: soil feedback mechanisms in grassland of different diversity

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Recent long-term studies in temperate grassland suggest that aboveground plant diversity loss leads to belowground extinction cascades and pronounced deterioration of fundamental belowground functions after a distinct time-lag. These findings suggest that the negative diversity loss – function relationship is driven to a large extent by soil feedback mechanisms. The main task of the present proposal is to disentangle the mechanisms underlying the plant diversity effects observed in the first eight years of the Jena Experiment by focusing on soil feedback mechanisms shaping the diversity – functioning relationship. Being involved and constituting fundamental parts in all major experiments the proposed project has five major goals: (1) Investigate effects of plant trait diversity as well as trait- and plant-specific impacts on soil microorganisms and soil fauna. (2) Investigate the role of belowground resources for the diversity – function relationship. (3) Follow the effects of plant species and functional group diversity on long-term changes in soil microorganisms and soil fauna. (4) Investigate changes in soil microorganisms and soil fauna of plant communities of different diversity invaded by plants. (5) Investigate the role of soil fauna for plant succession and aboveground multitrophic interactions in a plant diversity gradient. Overall, the project integrates belowground biota as response variables and driving forces of plant communities of different diversity and aims at a more comprehensive and mechanistic understanding of aboveground – belowground interrelationships.