The influence of soil age on ecosystem structure and function across biomes

Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo (), Peter B. Reich, Richard D. Bardgett, David J. Eldridge, Hans Lambers, David A. Wardle, Sasha C. Reed, César Plaza, G. Kenny Png, Sigrid Neuhauser, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Stephen C. Hart, Hang-Wei Hu, Ji-Zheng He, Felipe Bastida, Sebastián Abades, Fernando D. Alfaro, Nick A. Cutler, Antonio Gallardo, Laura García-Velázquez, Patrick E. Hayes, Zeng-Yei Hseu, Cecilia A. Pérez, Fernanda Santos, Christina Siebe, Pankaj Trivedi, Benjamin W. Sullivan, Luis Weber-Grullon, Mark A. Williams and Noah Fierer
Additional contact information
Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo: Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide
Peter B. Reich: University of Minnesota
Richard D. Bardgett: The University of Manchester
David J. Eldridge: University of New South Wales
Hans Lambers: The University of Western Australia
David A. Wardle: Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University
Sasha C. Reed: US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center
César Plaza: Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
G. Kenny Png: The University of Manchester
Sigrid Neuhauser: Institute of Microbiology, University of Innsbruck
Asmeret Asefaw Berhe: University of California Merced
Stephen C. Hart: University of California Merced
Hang-Wei Hu: Key Laboratory for Humid Subtropical Eco-geographical Processes of the Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Science, Fujian Normal University
Ji-Zheng He: Key Laboratory for Humid Subtropical Eco-geographical Processes of the Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Science, Fujian Normal University
Felipe Bastida: CEBAS-CSIC. Department of Soil and Water Conservation. Campus Universitario de Espinardo
Sebastián Abades: Universidad Mayor
Fernando D. Alfaro: Universidad Mayor
Nick A. Cutler: Newcastle University
Antonio Gallardo: Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide
Laura García-Velázquez: Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide
Patrick E. Hayes: The University of Western Australia
Zeng-Yei Hseu: National Taiwan University
Cecilia A. Pérez: Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Las Palmeras
Fernanda Santos: University of California Merced
Christina Siebe: Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria
Pankaj Trivedi: Microbiome Network and Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University
Benjamin W. Sullivan: University of Nevada
Luis Weber-Grullon: Arizona State University
Mark A. Williams: School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Noah Fierer: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract The importance of soil age as an ecosystem driver across biomes remains largely unresolved. By combining a cross-biome global field survey, including data for 32 soil, plant, and microbial properties in 16 soil chronosequences, with a global meta-analysis, we show that soil age is a significant ecosystem driver, but only accounts for a relatively small proportion of the cross-biome variation in multiple ecosystem properties. Parent material, climate, vegetation and topography predict, collectively, 24 times more variation in ecosystem properties than soil age alone. Soil age is an important local-scale ecosystem driver; however, environmental context, rather than soil age, determines the rates and trajectories of ecosystem development in structure and function across biomes. Our work provides insights into the natural history of terrestrial ecosystems. We propose that, regardless of soil age, changes in the environmental context, such as those associated with global climatic and land-use changes, will have important long-term impacts on the structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems across biomes.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18451-3

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