Effect of tree belt plantings on nematode communities in pastoral farming systems

摘要

By focussing on the central role of the soil -dwelling nematode commiunity in pastoral farming systems of the New England bioregion in Australia, this study aims to discover how restoring native vegetation to farming systems, in the form of diverse, native tree belt plantings, may enhance soil biodiversity and functioning within adjacent pastures. It is hypothesised: 1) that landscape scale patterns of diversity and function of nematode taxa in pastoral farming systems increases as a direct responseto native tree-belt plantings, 2) that the local scale distribution of nematode taxa and functional groups are nonlinearly related to distance, as a function of tree heights, from the tree-belt, and 3) that microclimatic conditions and habitat and resource heterogeneity created by tree-belts are major drivers of nematode diversity and function in these systems. Spatial analysis of variables include: nematode abundance, functional groups and genera, plant species diversity and tree belt structure, litterquantity and quality, soil moisture and temperature fluxes, carbon, porosity, ammonium/nitrates, and pH. A spatial sampling method, based on pilot study findings, will be presented, along with results from the first round of sampling conducted in summerof 2009/2010. It is expected the model developed will provide design rules-of-thumbs to land managers.