Links and fluxes in forest soil micro-food webs under different land use intensity

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Their great abundance, coupled with high species and trophic diversity, make nematode a key group in soil food webs. The proposed project investigates land use effects on the nematode fauna in 75 forest plots of the three exploratories with the focus on: (1) structure and function of the micro-food web, (2) links between microbial and faunal food web, and (3) biodiversity assembly after disturbance. By application of the nematode faunal analysis concept nematodes are used as indicators for food web conditions to assign how land use and forest management, and the related changes in food web resources, affect decomposition pathways and energy flux in soil. Community level physiological profiling (CLPP) of lipids is employed to monitor changes in trophic diversity at a biochemical level and to assess the strength of linkage between the microbial and faunal food web. To the best of our knowledge this is the first attempt of CLPP in nematode field populations. Further, re-establishment of the micro-food web after disturbance gives insight how the maintenance of functional diversity is shaped by habitat (land use type), resource (litter type) and biotic interactions (e.g. competition). The work is carried out in cooperation with projects of U. Brose, N. Eisenhauer, M. Maraun and S. Scheu, and complements the faunal analysis with the key group nematodes. Overall, nematodes will serve as entry-level indicators for resource allocation, partitioning and transfer in the micro-food web as modulated by forest land use intensity.