TY - JOUR
T1 - Soil Fauna Accelerate Dung Pat Decomposition and Nutrient Cycling into Grassland Soil
AU - Evans, Kenneth S.
AU - Mamo, Martha
AU - Wingeyer, Ana
AU - Schacht, Walter H.
AU - Eskridge, Kent M.
AU - Bradshaw, Jeff
AU - Ginting, Daniel
N1 - Funding Information:
The project was supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant Program (2013-67019-21394) from the US Dept of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Agricultural Research Division. The authors thank Pamela Sutton, Jonathan Soper, Erin Hatch, Jenna Beckman, Matt Judkins, Jake Siel, Julia Franck, Julio Rangel, and Samantha Teten for field and laboratory assistance.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019
PY - 2019/7
Y1 - 2019/7
N2 - Soil fauna play critical roles in various ecosystem functions and services, but empirical data measuring their impact on dung pat decomposition and subsequent nutrient cycling into rangeland soils are limited. The objective of this study was to quantify the effect of soil fauna, using dung beetle as an indicator, on dung decomposition and subsequent translocation of dung nutrients into grassland soil over time. A field experiment was conducted early in the summer season and late in the summer season of 2014 and 2015. In each season, dung beetle abundance, changes in dung properties, and subsequent translocation of dung nutrients into soils were evaluated at 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, and 56 d after placement (DAPs) of exposed dung and nonexposed dung to beetles. Analysis of no-dung control soil was included for comparison. Dung beetles contributed 7% and 4% in the losses of dung moisture and dry matter (DM), respectively; however, dung beetles had no effect on dung pat nutrients. Losses of dung nutrients—42% of water-extractable organic carbon, 46% of water-extractable phosphorus, and 65% of NH4—occurred during the first 14 DAPs. Dung beetles increased soil nutrients in the top 10-cm depth beneath the dung. No effect of beetles was observed in deeper (> 10-cm) soil depth or in soil 30 cm away from the dung. This study concluded that soil fauna, such as dung beetles, accelerated dung moisture and DM losses and subsequent nutrient increase into the top 10 cm of soil.
AB - Soil fauna play critical roles in various ecosystem functions and services, but empirical data measuring their impact on dung pat decomposition and subsequent nutrient cycling into rangeland soils are limited. The objective of this study was to quantify the effect of soil fauna, using dung beetle as an indicator, on dung decomposition and subsequent translocation of dung nutrients into grassland soil over time. A field experiment was conducted early in the summer season and late in the summer season of 2014 and 2015. In each season, dung beetle abundance, changes in dung properties, and subsequent translocation of dung nutrients into soils were evaluated at 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, and 56 d after placement (DAPs) of exposed dung and nonexposed dung to beetles. Analysis of no-dung control soil was included for comparison. Dung beetles contributed 7% and 4% in the losses of dung moisture and dry matter (DM), respectively; however, dung beetles had no effect on dung pat nutrients. Losses of dung nutrients—42% of water-extractable organic carbon, 46% of water-extractable phosphorus, and 65% of NH4—occurred during the first 14 DAPs. Dung beetles increased soil nutrients in the top 10-cm depth beneath the dung. No effect of beetles was observed in deeper (> 10-cm) soil depth or in soil 30 cm away from the dung. This study concluded that soil fauna, such as dung beetles, accelerated dung moisture and DM losses and subsequent nutrient increase into the top 10 cm of soil.
KW - dung beetle
KW - dung decomposition
KW - nutrient cycling
KW - rangelands
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U2 - 10.1016/j.rama.2019.01.008
DO - 10.1016/j.rama.2019.01.008
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85062998298
VL - 72
SP - 667
EP - 677
JO - Rangeland Ecology and Management
JF - Rangeland Ecology and Management
SN - 1550-7424
IS - 4
ER -