Parasitic plants indirectly regulate below-ground properties in grassland ecosystems

Parasitic plants are one of the most ubiquitous groups of generalist parasites in both natural and managed ecosystems, with over 3,000 known species worldwide. Although much is known about how parasitic plants influence host peformance, their role as drivers of community- and ecosystem-level propert...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature 2006-02, Vol.439 (7079), p.969-972
Main Authors: Bardgett, R.D, Smith, R.S, Shiel, R.S, Peacock, S, Simkin, J.M, Quirk, H, Hobbs, P.J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
animal manures
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
application rate
Bacteria - growth & development
Biodiversity
biogeochemical cycles
Biological and medical sciences
Biomass
community ecology
dry matter accumulation
Ecosystem
Ecosystems
Flowers & plants
forbs
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Fungi - growth & development
Grasses
Grasslands
Magnoliopsida - physiology
Manures
mineralization
model grassland ecosystems
nitrogen
Nitrogen - metabolism
parasitic plants
parasitism
plant ecology
plant growth
Poaceae - metabolism
Poaceae - microbiology
Poaceae - parasitology
Poaceae - physiology
Productivity
Rhinanthus minor
soil bacteria
soil ecology
Soil fertility
soil fungi
soil nutrient dynamics
species diversity
Synecology
Terrestrial ecosystems
Time Factors
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Summary:Parasitic plants are one of the most ubiquitous groups of generalist parasites in both natural and managed ecosystems, with over 3,000 known species worldwide. Although much is known about how parasitic plants influence host peformance, their role as drivers of community- and ecosystem-level properties remains largely unexplored. Parasitic plants have the potential to influence directly the productivity and structure of plant communities because they cause harm to particular host plants, indirectly increasing the competitive status of non-host species. Such parasite-driven above-ground effects might also have important indirect consequences through altering the quantity and quality of resources that enter soil, thereby affecting the activity of decomposer organisms. Here we show in model grassland communities that the parasitic plant Rhinanthus minor, which occurs widely throughout Europe and North America, has strong direct effects on above-ground community properties, increasing plant diversity and reducing productivity. We also show that these direct effects of R. minor on the plant community have marked indirect effects on below-ground properties, ultimately increasing rates of nitrogen cycling. Our study provides evidence that parasitic plants act as a major driver of both above-ground and below-ground properties of grassland ecosystems.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
1476-4679
DOI:10.1038/nature04197