Detailseite
Projekt
Decomposer - interaction webs and the effect of belowground biota for ecosystem processes
Antragsteller
Professor Dr. Francois Buscot; Professor Dr. Stefan Scheu
Fachliche Zuordnung
Ökologie und Biodiversität der Pflanzen und Ökosysteme
Förderung
Förderung von 2002 bis 2011
Projektkennung
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 5468999
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-Verfahren
Forschungsgruppen
