Investigating the linkages between plant functional diversity, soil biological communities and ecosystem services in agricultural grassland
Grasslands cover 36% of the land surface in the UK and are important for the provision of a multitude of ecosystem services, including economically viable fodder and livestock production, carbon sequestration and storage, and efficient nutrient cycling. In light of the challenges involved in maintaining a range of ecosystem services, this project aims to characterize how variations in plant functional diversity influence soil microbial communities and associated biogeochemical cycling, which in turn underpin the provision of ecosystem services in grassland.
This project, in partnership with Natural England, includes a large-scale field experiment at Selside Shaw within the Ingleborough NNR in Yorkshire. The field experiment consists of a plant diversity manipulation, whereby plant functional groups (grasses, legumes and herbs) in the MG3b Geranium syvalticum – Anthoxanthum odoratum grassland – a diverse upland hay meadow community – are sown and transplanted into the existing hay meadow. Over the next five years we aim to determine how different mixtures of plant functional groups affect the soil microbial communities, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas fluxes in the hay meadow.
This project, in partnership with Natural England, includes a large-scale field experiment at Selside Shaw within the Ingleborough NNR in Yorkshire. The field experiment consists of a plant diversity manipulation, whereby plant functional groups (grasses, legumes and herbs) in the MG3b Geranium syvalticum – Anthoxanthum odoratum grassland – a diverse upland hay meadow community – are sown and transplanted into the existing hay meadow. Over the next five years we aim to determine how different mixtures of plant functional groups affect the soil microbial communities, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas fluxes in the hay meadow.