Data from: Do Tasmanian devil declines impact ecosystem function?

Tasmanian eucalypt forests are among the most carbon-dense in the world,
but projected changes in climate could destabilize this critical carbon
sink. While the impact of abiotic factors on forest ecosystem carbon
dynamics have received considerable attention, biotic factors, such as the
input of animal scat, are less understood. Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus
harrisii)—an osteophageous scavenger that can ingest and solubilize
nutrients locked in bone material—may subsidize plant and microbial
productivity by concentrating bioavailable nutrients (e.g., nitrogen and
phosphorus) in scat latrines. Dramatic declines in devil population
densities are driven by the spread of a transmissible cancer and may have
underappreciated consequences for soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and
forest productivity by altering nutrient cycling. Here, we fuse
experimental data and modeling to quantify and predict future changes to
forest productivity and SOC under various climate and scat-quality
futures. We find that devil scat significantly increases concentrations of
nitrogen, ammonium, phosphorus, and phosphate in the soil, and shifts soil
microbial communities towards those dominated by r-selected (e.g.,
fast-growing) phyla. Further, under simulated increases in temperature and
precipitation, devil scat inputs are projected to increase above- and
belowground net primary productivity and microbial biomass carbon through
2100. In contrast, when devil scat is replaced by lower-quality scat
(e.g., from non-osteophageous scavengers and herbivores), forest carbon
pools either increase more slowly or decline. Together, our results
suggest biotic factors will interact with climate change to drive current
and future carbon pool dynamics in Tasmanian forests.