Scientists find grass yield, carbon storage not affected by creepy-crawlies in the soil
New results from experiments at a unique ecology facility show that plant communities are dramatically altered by changes to the type of animal species living among their roots, but that key ecosystem measurements such as overall agricultural yield or the amount of soil carbon stored are unaffected. According to the results of a three year study into the processes of experimental grassland ecosystems published in the journal Science today, changes to the makeup of soil communities from small to large animal body sizes -ranging from bacteria and fungi to worms and beetles - have no significant effect on the overall yield of the plant life above, nor on the overall amount of carbon stored away