Eco-evolutionary dynamics in plant-soil interactions during land use transition: consequences for soil functioning and resilience to drought

While the negative impacts of grassland fertilisation and shrub encroachment on species richness are well known, far less research has looked into genetic changes within species, which may be critical for species survival under climate change. Nor is it known how land-use-induced changes in plant populations affect the functioning and drought resilience of the entire ecosystem. These questions are the focus of the research project.

In traditionally managed grasslands, microscopic fungi are important for plants, helping them to take up nutrients from the soil as well as retain nutrients and bind carbon in the soil. If there has been a shift in land use, plants may abandon the symbiosis with fungi. As a result, the soil may become like a sieve from which nutrients are easily washed out, while carbon is released back into the environment during drought.

In the research project, grasslands of different historical background will be monitored in four areas across Europe: well-preserved and overgrown pastures in western Estonia, grasslands of different ages on the island of Öland in Sweden, traditional and fertilised grassland in northern England and the world’s oldest fertiliser test field in southern England, maintained for more than 160 years.