Biodiversity maintains soil multifunctionality and soil organic carbon in novel urban ecosystems

作者：Conrad Schittko, Gabriela Onandía, Maud Bernard‐Verdier, Tina Heger, Jonathan M. Jeschke, Ingo Kowarik, Stefanie Maaß, Jasmin Joshi · 发表于：Journal of Ecology · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1111/1365-2745.13852 · 被引用次数：66 · 研究领域：Land Use and Ecosystem Services、Urban Green Space and Health、Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

Abstract Biodiversity in urban ecosystems has the potential to increase ecosystem functions and support a suite of services valued by society, including services provided by soils. Specifically, the sequestration of carbon in soils has often been advocated as a solution to mitigate the steady increase in CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere as a key driver of climate change. However, urban ecosystems are also characterized by an often high level of ecological novelty due to profound human‐mediated changes, such as the presence of high numbers of non‐native species, impervious surfaces or other disturbances. Yet it is poorly understood whether and how biodiversity affects ecosystem functioning and services of urban soils under these novel conditions. In this study, we assessed the influence of above‐ and below‐ground diversity, as well as urbanization and plant invasions, on multifunctionality and organic carbon stocks of soils in non‐manipulated grasslands along an urbanization gradient in Berlin, Germany. We focused on plant diversity (measured as species richness and functional trait diversity) and, in addition, on soil organism diversity as a potential mediator for the relationship of plant species diversity and ecosystem functioning. Our results showed positive effects of plant diversity on soil multifunctionality and soil organic carbon stocks along the entire gradient. Structural equation models revealed that plant diversity enhanced soil multifunctionality and soil org...