<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<style type="text/css" style="display:none;"> P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;} </style>
</head>
<body dir="ltr">
<div style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in">
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;margin-bottom:0in">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dorota L. Porazinska, Plant and Soil, February 8, 2022</span><o:p style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"> </o:p><br>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;margin-bottom:0in">
<o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in">
Abstract:<o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in">
<br>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in">
Aims<o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in">
The invasive annual grass cheatgrass (<i>Bromus tectorum</i>) has been previously correlated with changes in soil labile nitrogen (N) and soil organic matter (SOM) that have not been consistent across sites and studies. Here we investigated the size and structure
of the soil food webs of cheatgrass and perennial grass soils to understand how seemingly contradictory patterns in SOM abundance and N mineralization could result from cheatgrass invasions of perennial grasslands.<o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in">
<o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in">
Methods<o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in">
Molecular DNA metabarcoding was used to examine diversity and structure of microbial and microfaunal communities beneath cheatgrass and perennial grasses interspersed within a Colorado grassland. In addition, morphological methods were used to enumerate nematodes,
microarthropods and earthworms.<o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in">
<o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in">
Results<o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in">
Cheatgrass and perennial grasses supported distinct communities of all investigated soil groups including bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and other non-fungal non-nematode microbial eukaryotes. Abundances of bacterial-feeding nematodes, collembolans, prostigmatid
mites, and SAR eukaryotes were higher beneath cheatgrass than native perennial grasses. Earthworms were about four times less abundant beneath cheatgrass than under perennial grasses.<o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in">
<o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in">
Conclusions<o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in">
Compositional differences and increased abundance of microbial and micro- and mesofaunal communities were consistent with the increase in labile N previously reported beneath invasive cheatgrass. Likewise, the large densities of exotic earthworms beneath our
perennial grasses were consistent with the literature suggesting their role in SOM reduction. We hypothesize that the mechanism for reduced densities of exotic earthworms (and hence preservation of SOM) in our soils invaded by cheatgrass relates to the dry-down
and reduction of soil moisture content in this semiarid grassland.<o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in">
<o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in">
Link to article: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11104-022-05312-9<o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>