During the period of March 2004 to December 2007, samples of aerial litter (dead but still attached plant parts) and ground litter (dead plant material on the ground) were collected from 81 study sites representing a wide range of latitudes (34°S to 50°S) and a variety of different types of habitats throughout New Zealand (including Stewart Island and the Auckland Islands). The objective was to...

The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the biomass yield and chemical composition of the essential oil of clove basil in response to doses of broiler litter (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 t ha-1) added in presence of triple superphosphate (200 kg ha-1) or without it. Before the first harvest, the height of the plants increased significantly (34.42 cm) when 15 tonnes ha-1 broiler litter were added to ...

Sustainable agriculture can increase the efficiency of resource utilization, provide longer productivity and create a balance in the environment. A field experiment was conducted to study the use of organic and chemical fertilizers on biomass, essential oil content and essential oil yield as well as chemical compositions of Dracocephalum polychaetum Burnm in the first and second cutting. The tr...

The spread of exotic earthworms (‘worming’) and rising temperatures are expected to alter the biological, chemical and physical properties of many ecosystems, yet little is known about their potential interactive effects. We performed a laboratory microcosm experiment to investigate the effects of earthworms (anecic, endogeic, epigeic, or all three together) and 4°C warming on soil water conten...

Atmospheric warming and increased nitrogen deposition can lead to changes of microbial communities with possible consequences for biogeochemical processes. We used an enclosure facility in a freshwater marsh to assess the effects on microbes associated with decomposing plant litter under conditions of simulated climate warming and pulsed nitrogen supply. Standard batches of litter were placed i...

Biological invasions are major threats to biodiversity, with impacts that may be compounded by other forms of environmental change. Observations of high density of the invasive springtail (Collembola), Hypogastrura manubrialis in heavily grazed renosterveld vegetation in the Western Cape, South Africa, raised the question of whether the invasion was favored by changes in plant litter quality as...

Some invasive plant species appear to strongly suppress neighbors in their nonnative ranges but much less so in their native range. We found that in the field in its native range in Mexico, the presence of Ageratina adenophora, an aggressive Neotropical invader, was correlated with higher plant species richness than found in surrounding plant communities where this species was absent, suggestin...

It is increasingly recognized that microbiota affect host health and physiology. However, it is unclear what factors shape microbiome community assembly in nature, and how microbiome assembly can be manipulated to improve host health. All plant leaves host foliar endophytic fungi, which make up a diverse, environmentally acquired fungal microbiota. Here, we experimentally manipulated assembly o...