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Effects of Schizachyrium Scoparium Coverage on Soil and Food Web Structure in Coastal Plain Grasslands

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Effects of Schizachyrium Scoparium Coverage on Soil and Food Web Structure in Coastal Plain Grasslands Black 1 Effects of Schizachyrium scoparium coverage on soil and food web structure in coastal plain grasslands Max Black1, Linda Deegan2, Chris Neill2, Marta De Giuli3 1. Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA 17603 2. Woods Hole Research Center, Falmouth, MA 02540 3. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Black 2 Abstract Coastal sandplain grasslands serve as hubs for biodiversity and provide a unique habitat for rare and threatened species. In recent years there have been major efforts to bring back grasslands since their decline caused by human development. Management strategies, namely controlled burning, often focus on promoting warm season grasses such as Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem), a perennial bunch grass native to most of North America. The goal is to maintain the grasslands and prevent invasion trees and other late successional species. We are interested in examining the effects of increased little bluestem coverage on soil organic matter, invertebrate diversity and abundance, and determining if there is a shift in the plants at the base of the food web. We studied a sandplain grassland at Crane Wildlife Management Area in Falmouth, Massachusetts, focusing on five sites that vary in little bluestem coverage. Since little bluestem is the only major C4 plant in the grassland, we used the difference in carbon isotope fractionation to discriminate between C3 plant derived carbon and C4 plant derived carbon. We took 30 cm soil cores to analyze total soil organic matter and ẟC13 by depth to determine the proportion of little bluestem derived soil carbon. We employed pitfall traps and berlese funnels to assess invertebrate diversity and abundance, and analyzed several species for ẟC13 to assess the impact of percent little bluestem coverage on their diets. We found less soil organic matter in the areas with greater than 50% little bluestem coverage and greater ẟ13C values for areas with greater than 50% little bluestem coverage. There was less invertebrate diversity in plots with greater little Black 3 bluestem coverage. There was an increase in invertebrate abundance as little bluestem coverage increased from 0-49% little bluestem coverage, and a decline in abundance as little bluestem coverage increased from 50-100%. The ẟ13C values of the sow bugs and woodlice (detritivores) increased as the little bluestem coverage increased. The ẟ13C values of the grasshoppers (herbivores) remained relatively constant at around - 28 ppt among all of the cover types. Little bluestem is contributing a significant proportion of soil carbon in areas with high bluestem coverage. Grasshoppers, an important direct herbivore in the food web, do not eat little bluestem; this could have implications higher up in the food web. There were less predators where there was higher little bluestem coverage, a sign of food web truncation. We observed a shift in ecosystem function, occurring at around 50% little bluestem coverage. Key Words: coastal sandplain grasslands; biodiversity; ecosystem function; invertebrate; food web; soil organic matter; ẟC13 Introduction Coastal plain grasslands, along with many open habitats, are historically maintained by natural disturbances such as fire, grazing, and salt spray (Dunwiddie et al, 1996). These disturbance cycles have been disrupted by increased development, causing a decline in coastal plain grasslands. In recent years, there have been major efforts to restore coastal plain grasslands, especially because of the ways that they promote biodiversity and are home to many rare and threatened species (Simmons and Mazzei, 2014). One of the major ways wildlife organizations manage for grasslands is through the use of burning and other tactics to promote warm season grasses. Black 4 Little bluestem is a warm season, perennial bunch grass that is native to most of North America between Mexico and northern Canada (Tober and Jensen, 2013). Often considered as a foundation species, it produces a large amount of seeds which provide nutritious meals for birds all across North America, and serves as an important food source for many grazing animals (Campbell, 2015). The clumped structure provides shelter for small mammals and ground nesting birds. Some animals that inhabit fields of little bluestem also feed on insects which feed on the grass’ inner shoots, or live within the grass. Little bluestem is more prevalent in upland open habitats like grasslands and shrub lands; habitats maintained by natural disturbances. It’s widely understood that lower plant diversity is correlated with a decline in biodiversity and ecosystem services (SEP 2015). We wanted to assess the effects of increased little bluestem coverage on soil organic matter, invertebrate biodiversity and abundance, and if there is a shift in the plants at the base of the food web. Since little bluestem is the only major species using the C4 photosynthetic pathway in the grassland, we took advantage of the difference in carbon 13 isotope fractionation by using ẟC13 values as a proxy for carbon originating with little bluestem, or carbon originating with the C3 grassland species (O’Leary, 1988). Our research examined the soil, plant, and invertebrate composition of five sites of varying levels of little bluestem coverage within Crane Wildlife Management Area in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Crane Wildlife Management Area is a large grassland in Massachusetts, with about 200 acres of open sandplain grassland; much of this area has high little bluestem coverage. Since the 1990’s, the Department of Fish and Wildlife has burned, mowed, and planted various native plants to expand and maintain the grassland ecosystem Black 5 (Simmons and Mazzei, 2014). We examined five sites within the Crane WMA that vary in little bluestem coverage, to assess the impacts that higher coverage of little bluestem has on the soil and food web structure. We identified five 314 m2 sites with little bluestem coverage ranging from 4-15% to 75-100% coverage. We took soil cores from each site to assess the SOM and ẟC13 at four depths. Since little bluestem is the only major C4 plant in the ecosystem, ẟC13 will be used as a proxy for the amount of little bluestem derived carbon. Pitfall traps and berlese funnels will be deployed at each site to collect the invertebrates. We will assess invertebrate diversity and abundance, and determine the diets of several species using their ẟC13 values. Methods Field: We first visually identified five sites of varying little bluestem cover. We then marked each site with a surveyor’s flag and recorded the GPS coordinates. We used a tape measure and surveying tape to mark off a 10 meter radius circle using the flag as the center. Within these sites, we used a 3 x 3 meter PVC square to randomly select three quadrats where we estimated little bluestem coverage as well as percent coverage of other classes of plants, e.g. forbs, grasses, etc. We took five soil cores to 30 cm within each site. We separated each core into four segments: 0-5 cm, 6-10 cm, 11-20 cm, and 21-30 cm and stored them in ziplock bags. These total to 100 soil samples. To deploy pitfall traps we placed 9 ounce plastic cups in the holes from which the soil cores were taken. We created a mix of 50 mL Dawn Original dish detergent and 1 gallon of water, which we poured ~2 ounces of into each plastic cup. After 72 hours we retrieved the cups, replaced the lids, and returned them to the lab. To ensure that we found a sampling of invertebrates that was Black 6 representative of the ecosystem, we collected five 10 x 10 cm quadrats of plant litter in ziplock bags to catch insects that reside on the plants and weren’t caught by falling into the pitfall traps; they will be processed via berlese funnels in the lab. Finally, we took clippings of little bluestem and several C3 plants to be used as baselines for C4 and C3 ẟC13 signatures in this specific grassland system. Lab: We dried the clippings of Schyzarium scoparium, Rubus flagellaris, Solidago canadensis, and Carex pensylvanica in a drying oven for 48 hours. We ground these clippings using a Wiglbug and analyzed them for ẟC13 (Otter, 2017). We dried the soil samples in a drying oven at 75℃ for 36 hours, removed roots and rocks and then ground them with a mortar and pestle to prepare them for loss on ignition and ẟC13 isotope analysis. For all five cores from each site, we took subsamples from each depth and combined them according to depth, to make four aggregate samples per site. This made a total of 20 soil samples for isotope analysis. About 5 grams of dried and ground soil from each depth from each core were then placed in pre-ashed and pre-weighed aluminum tins. The initial weights of these samples were recorded. We then placed the tins in a muffle furnace set for 375℃ for 16 hours to burn off all organic material. After cooling for two hours, we reweighed the tins. The difference between the initial weight and final weight was the weight of the organic matter in each sample (Robertson, 2011). To isolate the soil surface invertebrates from the soapy water mixture, we poured the contents of each plastic cup through a mesh screen. After picking out large debris with tweezers, we rinsed the invertebrates with deionized water until no soapy water remained. We then rinsed with a small amount of 70% ethanol and then deposited the Black 7 organisms into a glass jar with enough ethanol so that they were all covered. The organisms from all five pitfall traps for one site were combined into one jar, for a total of five jars. We identified the organisms using a microscope, several online references, and the help of Matt Pelikan, then recorded numbers of individuals as well as species for each site.
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