Terrestrial ecosystems consist of mutually dependent producer and decomposer subsystems, but not much is known on how their interactions are modified by plant diversity and elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Factorially manipulating grassland plant species diversity and atmospheric CO2 concentrations for five years, we tested whether high diversity or elevated CO2 sustain larger or more a...

BACKGROUND Invasions of natural communities by non-indigenous species are currently rated as one of the most important global-scale threats to biodiversity. Biodiversity itself is known to reduce invasions and increase stability. Disturbances by ecosystem engineers affect the distribution, establishment, and abundance of species but this has been ignored in studies on diversity-invasibility rel...

Microbes are the unseen majority in soil and comprise a large portion of life's genetic diversity. Despite their abundance, the impact of soil microbes on ecosystem processes is still poorly understood. Here we explore the various roles that soil microbes play in terrestrial ecosystems with special emphasis on their contribution to plant productivity and diversity. Soil microbes are important r...

ackground: DNA barcoding is a novel method of species identification based on nucleotide diversity of conserved sequences. The establishment and refining of plant DNA barcoding systems is more challenging due to high genetic diversity among different species. Therefore, targeting the conserved nuclear transcribed regions would be more reliable for plant scientists to reveal genetic diversity, s...

Soil microbial diversity is an important index of agricultural productivity (Nimisha Sharma et al,.2010; Kent and Triplett, 2002; Isik, 2008). Both plant and the soil types influences the microbial diversity. Rhizosphere microbial diversity usually influenced by both plant and soil types. Plants and microorganisms interact with each other and co evaluate together. Their balance is important for...

Understanding ecological linkages between above- and below-ground biota is critical for deepening our knowledge on the maintenance and stability of ecosystem processes. Nevertheless, direct comparisons of plant-microbe diversity at the community level remain scarce due to the knowledge gap between microbial ecology and plant ecology. We compared the α- and β- diversities of plant and soil bacte...

The effects of herbivores and diversity on plant communities have been studied separately but rarely in combination. We conducted two concurrent experiments over 3 years to examine how tree seedling diversity, density and herbivory affected forest regeneration. One experiment factorially manipulated plant diversity (one versus 15 species) and the presence/absence of deer (Odocoileus virginianus...

Plant-herbivore interactions shape community dynamics across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats. From amphipods to elephants and from algae to trees, plant-herbivore relationships are the crucial link generating animal biomass (and human societies) from mere sunlight. These interactions are, thus, pivotal to understanding the ecology and evolution of virtually any ecosystem. Here, we ...

A 6-year study was conducted in tallgrass prairie to assess the effects of grazing management (cattle stocking densities and grazing systems) on plant community composition and diversity. Treatments included sites grazed season-long (May to October) at 3 stocking densities (3.8, 2.8, and 1.8 hectares per animal unit), ungrazed control sites, and sites under a late-season rest rotation grazing s...