02500nas a2200205   4500008004100000245008700041210006900128300001300197490000700210520182800217653003302045653002802078653002902106653002902135653002202164100001502186700001502201700001202216856006602228       2012                        eng d00aPlant and soil responses to high and low diversity grassland restoration practices0 aPlant and soil responses to high and low diversity grassland res  a412 -4240 v493 a<p>The USDA&rsquo;s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has predominantly used only a few species of dominant prairie grasses (CP2 practice) to reduce soil erosion, but recently has offered a higher diversity planting practice (CP25) to increase grassland habitat quality. We quantified plant community composition in CP25 and CP2 plantings restored for 4 or 8 years and compared belowground properties and processes among restorations and continuously cultivated soils in southeastern Nebraska, USA. Relative to cultivated soils, restoration increased soil microbial biomass (P = 0.033), specifically fungi (P &lt; 0.001), and restored soils exhibited higher rates of carbon (C) mineralization (P = 0.010). High and low diversity plantings had equally diverse plant communities; however, CP25 plantings had greater frequency of cool-season (C3) grasses (P = 0.007). Older (8 year) high diversity restorations contained lower microbial biomass (P = 0.026), arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) biomass (P = 0.003), and C mineralization rates (P = 0.028) relative to 8 year low diversity restorations; older plantings had greater root biomass than 4 year plantings in all restorations (P = 0.001). Low diversity 8 year plantings contained wider root C:N ratios, and higher soil microbial biomass, microbial community richness, AMF biomass, and C mineralization rate relative to 4 year restorations (P &lt; 0.050). Net N mineralization and nitrification rates were lower in 8 year than 4 year high diversity plantings (P = 0.005). We attributed changes in soil C and N pools and fluxes to increased AMF associated with C4 grasses in low diversity plantings. Thus, reduced recovery of AMF in high diversity plantings restricted restoration of belowground microbial diversity and microbially-mediated soil processes over time.</p>10aConservation reserve program10aNitrogen mineralization10aPhospholipid fatty acids10aSoil microbial community10atallgrass prairie1 aBach, E.M.1 aBaer, S.G.1 aSix, J.  uhttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00267-011-9787-003035nas a2200229   4500008004100000245009300041210006900134300001500203490000700218520227700225653001502502653003902517653002202556653002902578653003102607653002202638100001502660700001502675700001602690700001202706856008702718       2011                        eng d00aSoil texture affects soil microbial and structural recovery during grassland restoration0 aSoil texture affects soil microbial and structural recovery duri  a2182 -21910 v423 a<p>Many biotic and abiotic factors influence recovery of soil communities following prolonged disturbance. We investigated the role of soil texture in the recovery of soil microbial community structure and changes in microbial stress, as indexed by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles, using two chronosequences of grasslands restored from 0 to 19 years on silty clay loam and loamy fine sand soils in Nebraska, USA. All restorations were formerly cultivated fields seeded to native warm-season grasses through the USDA&rsquo;s Conservation Reserve Program. Increases in many PLFA concentrations occurred across the silty clay loam chronosequence including total PLFA biomass, richness, fungi, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, and actinomycetes. Ratios of saturated:monounsaturated and iso:anteiso PLFAs decreased across the silty clay loam chronosequence indicating reduction in nutrient stress of the microbial community as grassland established. Multivariate analysis of entire PLFA profiles across the silty clay loam chronosequence showed recovery of microbial community structure on the trajectory toward native prairie. Conversely, no microbial groups exhibited a directional change across the loamy fine sand chronosequence. Changes in soil structure were also only observed across the silty clay loam chronosequence. Aggregate mean weighted diameter (MWD) exhibited an exponential rise to maximum resulting from an exponential rise to maximum in the proportion of large macroaggregates (&gt;2000 μm) and exponential decay in microaggregates (&lt;250 μm and &gt;53 μm) and the silt and clay fraction (&lt;53 μm). Across both chronosequences, MWD was highly correlated with total PLFA biomass and the biomass of many microbial groups. Strong correlations between many PLFA groups and the MWD of aggregates underscore the interdependence between the recovery of soil microbial communities and soil structure that may explain more variation than time for some soils (i.e., loamy fine sand). This study demonstrates that soil microbial responses to grassland restoration are modulated by soil texture with implications for estimating the true capacity of restoration efforts to rehabilitate ecosystem functions.</p>10aAggregates10aConservation Reserve Program (CRP)10aMicrobial biomass10aPhospholipid fatty acids10aSoil microbial communities10atallgrass prairie1 aBach, E.M.1 aBaer, S.G.1 aMeyer, C.K.1 aSix, J.  uhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0038071710003020?via%3Dihub