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Stefan Scheu

By influencing nutrient mineralization in the soil, decomposers may affect the performance of plants and their associated herbivores. The strength of above–belowground linkages may therefore depend on the availability of nutrients in ecosystems. We investigated the dependency of decomposer- and leaf-herbivore-mediated changes in plant performance on soil nutrient availability in microcosm systems. In separate treatments, Poa annua was used as host plant for the herbivore and was grown in combination with different herb species: Plantago lanceolata, Trifolium repens, and Sanguisorba minor. At three different levels of nutrient availability, the impact of Collembola (Folsomia candida) and aphids (Rhopalosiphum padi),...
We explore empirical and theoretical evidence for the functional significance of plant-litter diversity and the extraordinary high diversity of decomposer organisms in the process of litter decomposition and the consequences for biogeochemical cycles. Potential mechanisms for the frequently observed litter-diversity effects on mass loss and nitrogen dynamics include fungi-driven nutrient transfer among litter species, inhibition or stimulation of microorganisms by specific litter compounds, and positive feedback of soil fauna due to greater habitat and food diversity. Theory predicts positive effects of microbial diversity that result from functional niche complementarity, but the few existing experiments provide...
By influencing nutrient mineralization in the soil, decomposers may affect the performance of plants and their associated herbivores. The strength of above–belowground linkages may therefore depend on the availability of nutrients in ecosystems. We investigated the dependency of decomposer- and leaf-herbivore-mediated changes in plant performance on soil nutrient availability in microcosm systems. In separate treatments, Poa annua was used as host plant for the herbivore and was grown in combination with different herb species: Plantago lanceolata, Trifolium repens, and Sanguisorba minor. At three different levels of nutrient availability, the impact of Collembola (Folsomia candida) and aphids (Rhopalosiphum padi),...
We explore the potential for applying broad ecological theories to interactions between soil animals and micro-organisms to generate a predictive framework within which more hypothesis led research can be undertaken. The paper stems from discussions during a workshop at the XIVth International Symposium on Soil Zoology. The possible linkage between biodiversity and ecosystem functions forms a good example of how soil zoology research can be productively stimulated by addressing a broader ecological concept but also how the concept can be tested below ground at fundamentally different scales to those commonly used above ground. Other areas of theory rapidly developing above ground, which are yet to be fully tested...
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