Dara for: Functional traits of plant roots and Collembola determine their tri-trophic interactions with soil microbes

Traditionally, leaf litter has been recognized as the main driver of the soil food web, but more recently roots have been shown to play an important role in fueling soil organisms. Root functional traits were shown to have direct effects on microbes and Nematoda, but many black boxes remain such as the effects of root traits on Collembola. Here, in a microcosm experiment, we studied the tri-trophic interactions between roots, microbes and Collembola in relation to ten plant species individually. Our results showed that plant species identity can drive variability in Collembola community structure, and this variability is best explained by root traits and microbial communities. Collembola feeding traits based on mandibular morphology were useful to identify top-down control on microbial communities. Our study also suggests that root traits such as fine root length and root diameter modify Collembola-microbe interactions, probably by modifying soil porosity. Overall, we obtained better results by looking at the whole system, rather than looking at bi-trophic interactions. This illustrates the importance of a holistic approach when studying biotic interactions in soil ecosystems.

The data set included:
- Collembola species abundance / microcosms
- PLFA (phospholipid fatty acids) of microbes / microcosms
- Functional traits value of plant roots
- Functional trait value of Collembola
- Soil chemical data

传统观念认为，叶落是土壤食物网的主要驱动力，然而近期研究表明根系在滋养土壤生物方面亦扮演着至关重要的角色。研究表明，根系功能性状对微生物和线虫具有直接的影响，但诸如根系性状对跳甲类生物的影响等许多未解之谜尚存。在本研究中，我们通过微宇宙实验，探究了根系、微生物与跳甲类生物之间在十种植物物种个体层面的三营养级相互作用。研究结果揭示，植物物种的特异性可以驱动跳甲类生物群落结构的变异，而这种变异的最佳解释来自于根系性状和微生物群落。基于颚部形态的跳甲类生物摄食性状有助于识别对微生物群落的顶端控制。我们的研究还表明，根系性状，如细根长度和根直径，通过改变土壤孔隙度，可能调节跳甲类生物与微生物的相互作用。总体而言，通过考察整个系统而非仅关注双营养级相互作用，我们获得了更佳的研究结果。这凸显了在研究土壤生态系统中的生物相互作用时采取整体方法的必要性。

数据集包括：
- 跳甲类生物物种丰度/微宇宙
- 微生物的磷脂脂肪酸（PLFA）/微宇宙
- 植物根系的性状功能值
- 跳甲类生物的性状功能值
- 土壤化学数据