Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30921392›Full record

ArticlePloS one2019

Deprivation of root-derived resources affects microbial biomass but not community structure in litter and soil.

Sarah L Bluhm, Bernhard Eitzinger, Olga Ferlian, Christian Bluhm, Kristina Schröter, Rodica Pena, Mark Maraun, Stefan Scheu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Sarah L BluhmUniversity of Göttingen, J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Animal Ecology, Untere Karspüle 2, Göttingen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-7314-7415
Bernhard EitzingerUniversity of Göttingen, J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Animal Ecology, Untere Karspüle 2, Göttingen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-5903-4887
Olga FerlianUniversity of Göttingen, J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Animal Ecology, Untere Karspüle 2, Göttingen, Germany.
Christian BluhmUniversity of Göttingen, J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Animal Ecology, Untere Karspüle 2, Göttingen, Germany.
Kristina SchröterUniversity of Göttingen, Büsgen Institute, Forest Botany and Tree Physiology, Büsgenweg 2, Göttingen, Germany.
Rodica PenaUniversity of Göttingen, Büsgen Institute, Forest Botany and Tree Physiology, Büsgenweg 2, Göttingen, Germany.
Mark MaraunUniversity of Göttingen, J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Animal Ecology, Untere Karspüle 2, Göttingen, Germany.
Stefan ScheuUniversity of Göttingen, J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Animal Ecology, Untere Karspüle 2, Göttingen, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The input of plant leaf litter has been assumed to be the most important resource for soil organisms of forest ecosystems, but there is increasing evidence that root-derived resources may be more important. By trenching roots of trees in deciduous and coniferous forests, we cut-off the input of root-derived resources and investigated the response of microorganisms using substrate-induced respiration and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. After one and three years, root trenching strongly decreased microbial biomass and concentrations of PLFAs by about 20%, but the microbial community structure was little affected and the effects were similar in deciduous and coniferous forests. However, the reduction in microbial biomass varied between regions and was more pronounced in forests on limestone soils (Hainich) than in those on sandy soils (Schorfheide). Trenching also reduced microbial biomass in the litter layer but only in the Hainich after one year, whereas fungal and bacterial marker PLFAs as well as the fungal-to-plant marker ratio in litter were reduced in the Schorfheide both after one and three years. The pronounced differences between forests of the two regions suggest that root-derived resources are more important in fueling soil microorganisms of base-rich forests characterized by mull humus than in forests poor in base cations characterized by moder soils. The reduction in microbial biomass and changes in microbial community characteristics in the litter layer suggests that litter microorganisms do not exclusively rely on resources from decomposing litter but also from roots, i.e. from resources based on labile recently fixed carbon. Our results suggest that both bacteria and fungi heavily depend on root-derived resources with both suffering to a similar extent to deprivation of these resources. Further, the results indicate that the community structure of microorganisms is remarkably resistant to changes in resource supply and adapts quickly to new conditions irrespective of tree species composition and forest management.

Indexed as

BiomassMicrobiotaSoil MicrobiologyBacteriaForestsFungiPlant RootsSoilTreesSoil

Identifiers

PMID30921392
PMCPMC6438447

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.