The soil fauna affects soil structure, nutrient mineralization, decomposition processes, and the activity and composition of the microbial community in soil. These effects likely also modify plant performance, plant competition and the use of plant tissue by above-ground herbivores. The proposed project investigates effects of earthworms and soil insects on the above-ground system in grassland communities of different diversity. Earthworm and soil insect density is manipulated in experimental plots differing in plant diversity. The manipulations include the combined exclusion of below-ground insects and above-ground herbivores. It is expected that the response of the above-ground plant and animal community to manipulations of soil animal populations depends on plant species, plant diversity and plant functional group. The differential response is expected to propagate into the herbivore system thereby affecting the structure of the above-ground animal community.
DFG Programme
Research Units
