Windfarm construction alters soil multinutrient cycling by destabilizing microfauna community in a mountain ecosystem

Debao Li; Changwei Ma; Chunyu Yue; Na Lin; Yingmo Zhu; Jianping Wu

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123758

Windfarm construction alters soil multinutrient cycling by destabilizing microfauna community in a mountain ecosystem

J Environ Manage. 2024 Dec 17:373:123758. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123758. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Debao Li¹, Changwei Ma¹, Chunyu Yue¹, Na Lin¹, Yingmo Zhu², Jianping Wu³

Affiliations

¹ Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Transboundary Ecosecurity of Southwest China, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology and Institute of Biodiversity, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China; Laboratory of Soil Ecology and Health in Universities of Yunnan Province, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China.
² Faculty of Civil Aviation and Aeronautics, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China. Electronic address: zymkm271@163.com.
³ Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Transboundary Ecosecurity of Southwest China, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology and Institute of Biodiversity, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China; Laboratory of Soil Ecology and Health in Universities of Yunnan Province, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China. Electronic address: jianping.wu@ynu.edu.cn.

PMID: 39693980
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123758

Abstract

In recent decades, investors attracted to wind power's promise of zero-emission electricity have fueled the proliferation of large windfarms across the world. However, the effects of windfarm construction with different land use subtypes (i.e., wind turbine, waste slag, and construction production and living areas) on soil microfauna community stability and subsequent consequences for ecosystem functioning remains poorly understood. Here, we evaluated how these three land use types affect soil microfauna community stability relative to natural vegetation types (forest, shrubland, and grassland) in a mountain area. We found that all three windfarm land use subtypes reduced soil multinutrient cycling and microfauna community stability compared with natural ecosystems. However, among these natural ecosystems, reductions of soil multinutrient cycling were 66.36% and 79.10% lower in grassland than in forest and shrubland, respectively. Reductions of soil nematode community stability were 62.15% and 77.22% lower in grassland than in forest and shrubland; as well as soil protist community stability were 74.01% and 56.74%, respectively. Interspecific interactions and environmental filtering jointly drove variation in soil microfauna community stability. Soil microfauna community stability was significantly and positively linked to soil multinutrient cycling, which has the potential to initiate cascading ecological consequences. Our finding implies that grasslands may be more suitable than shrublands or forests for windfarm development based on the responses of soil microfauna communities.

Keywords: Community stability; Microfauna diversity; Network structure; Nutrient cycling; South China; Windfarms.