The abundance, diversity, and metabolic footprint of soil nematodes is highest in high elevation alpine grasslands

Kergunteuil, Alan; Campos-Herrera, Raquel; Sánchez-Moreno, Sara; Vittoz, Pascal; Rasmann, Sergio

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/9802

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Authors

Kergunteuil, Alan

Campos-Herrera, Raquel

Sánchez-Moreno, Sara

Vittoz, Pascal

Rasmann, Sergio

Abstract(s)

Nematodes are key components of soil biodiversity and represent valuable bio-indicators of soil food webs. Numerous community indices have been developed in order to track variations in nematode-mediate soil ecosystem processes, but their use is mainly restricted to anthropogenic stresses. In this study, we propose to expand the use of nematodes' derived ecological indices in order to shed light on variations of soil food webs in natural systems distributed along elevation gradients. For this purpose, we aimed at determining how elevation affects the community structure and the trophic diversity by studying the abundance, the composition and the functional diversity of nematode communities.