Soil nutrients cause threefold increase in pathogen and herbivore impacts on grassland plant biomass

A combination of theory and experiments predicts that increasing soil nutrients will modify herbivore microbial impacts on ecosystem carbon cycling. However, few studies herbivores have measured both fluxes pools. Even more rare are manipulating microbes look at cycling responses. We added to a long-term, experiment foliar fungi, mammalian arthropods in low fertility grassland. gross primary production (GPP), respiration (ER), net exchange (NEE) plant biomass throughout the growing season determine how consumer Nutrient addition increased above-ground GPP, but not ER, resulting an increase uptake rate. Reducing fungi biomass. Nutrients amplified effects biomass, such had threefold larger impact fertilized plots. Synthesis. Our work demonstrates resources rates as well animal fungal production. Taken together, ongoing nutrient pollution may drive