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The relative importance of invertebrate and microbial decomposition in a rainforest restoration project

Donald, Julian; Weir, Iain; Bonnett, Sam; Maxfield, Pete; Ellwood, M. D. Farnon

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Authors

Julian Donald

Sam Bonnett Sam.Bonnett@uwe.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science

Profile image of Pete Maxfield

Pete Maxfield Pete.Maxfield@uwe.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Environmental Chemistry

M. D. Farnon Ellwood



Abstract

© 2017 Society for Ecological Restoration Tropical rainforests are increasingly disturbed by human activities. While restoration projects often succeed in replacing tree cover, they rarely manage to restore soil function. Consequently, there is an urgent need to understand the changes that occur during soil restoration. Model ecosystems such as the Eden Project present an ideal opportunity to investigate these changes. The Eden Project was built 15 years ago, and its plants grown from seedlings, or sown directly into a soil made up of standardized mixtures of recycled organic material. Today, the Eden Project's rainforest biome consists of a diverse community of plants, invertebrates, and microorganisms. Different areas within the biome are managed differently, allowing us to separate the relative contributions of decomposers under differing physical conditions. Litterbag experiments revealed significant differences in decomposition rates in bags of different mesh sizes. Phospholipid fatty acid analysis revealed that microbial biomass and community structure varied under different management regimes. Soil enzyme assays revealed that glucosidase activity increased in soils with more organic matter, whereas phenol oxidase activity increased in more alkaline soils. Our study takes a step toward understanding the interactions between invertebrates and microbes, and the way in which soils function during restoration.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 16, 2017
Online Publication Date Aug 10, 2017
Publication Date Mar 1, 2018
Deposit Date Jun 12, 2017
Publicly Available Date Aug 10, 2018
Journal Restoration Ecology
Print ISSN 1061-2971
Electronic ISSN 1526-100X
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 26
Issue 2
Pages 220-226
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12553
Keywords soil, enzymes, microorganisms, decomposition, invertebrates, ecosystem function
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/883019
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rec.12553
Additional Information Additional Information : This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Donald, J., Weir, I., Bonnett, S., Maxfield, P. and Ellwood, M. D. F. (2017) The relative importance of invertebrate and microbial decomposition in a rainforest restoration project. Restoration Ecology, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rec.12553. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
Contract Date Jun 12, 2017

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