Diversity of plant and soil microbes mediates the response of ecosystem multifunctionality to grazing disturbance

Summary

This field study investigates the mechanistic pathways through which plant and soil microbial diversity buffer grassland ecosystems against grazing disturbance. The authors quantify ecosystem multifunctionality—the simultaneous provisioning of multiple ecosystem services—and demonstrate that microbial and plant diversity mediate resilience to grazing pressure. The findings suggest that maintaining biological diversity at multiple trophic levels is central to sustaining multifunctional benefits under pastoral management.

UK applicability

The study's focus on upland grassland systems and grazing management is relevant to UK hill farming and moorland contexts, where balancing livestock production with ecosystem service provision is a key policy concern. However, the study was conducted in China's grasslands; UK uplands differ climatically and ecologically, so direct applicability to UK practice requires validation in British pastoral systems.

Key measures

Ecosystem multifunctionality index; plant species diversity; soil microbial (bacterial and fungal) community composition and diversity; soil nutrient cycling processes; grazing intensity/disturbance levels

Outcomes reported

The study examined how plant and soil microbial diversity mediate the response of ecosystem multifunctionality (multiple ecosystem services) to grazing disturbance in grassland systems. Multifunctionality was measured across soil nutrient cycling, productivity, and other ecosystem services under varying grazing intensities.

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