TY - GEN A1 - Degrune, Florine A1 - Dumack, Kenneth A1 - Ryo, Masahiro A1 - Garland, Gina A1 - Romdhane, Sana A1 - Saghaï, Aurélien A1 - Banerjee, Samiran A1 - Edlinger, Anna A1 - Herzog, Chantal A1 - Pescador, David Sánchez A1 - García‐Palacios, Pablo A1 - Fiore-Donno, Anna Maria A1 - Bonkowski, Michael A1 - Hallin, Sara A1 - Heijden, Marcel G. A. van der A1 - Maestre, Fernando T. A1 - Philippot, Laurent A1 - Glemnitz, Michael A1 - Sieling, Klaus A1 - Rillig, Matthias C. T1 - The impact of fungi on soil protist communities in European cereal croplands T2 - Environmental Microbiology N2 - Protists, a crucial part of the soil food web, are increasingly acknowledged as significant influencers of nutrient cycling and plant performance in farmlands. While topographical and climatic factors are often considered to drive microbial communities on a continental scale, higher trophic levels like heterotrophic protists also rely on their food sources. In this context, bacterivores have received more attention than fungivores. Our study explored the connection between the community composition of protists (specifically Rhizaria and Cercozoa) and fungi across 156 cereal fields in Europe, spanning a latitudinal gradient of 3000 km. We employed a machine‐learning approach to measure the significance of fungal communities in comparison to bacterial communities, soil abiotic factors, and climate as determinants of the Cercozoa community composition. Our findings indicate that climatic variables and fungal communities are the primary drivers of cercozoan communities, accounting for 70% of their community composition. Structural equation modelling (SEM) unveiled indirect climatic effects on the cercozoan communities through a change in the composition of the fungal communities. Our data also imply that fungivory might be more prevalent among protists than generally believed. This study uncovers a hidden facet of the soil food web, suggesting that the benefits of microbial diversity could be more effectively integrated into sustainable agriculture practices. Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.16673 SN - 1462-2912 VL - 26 IS - 7 PB - Wiley ER - TY - GEN A1 - Pätzig, Marlene A1 - Kalettka, Thomas A1 - Glemnitz, Michael A1 - Berger, Gert T1 - What governs macrophyte species richness in kettle hole types? A case study from Northeast Germany T2 - Limnologica KW - ponds KW - Depressional wetlands Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.limno.2012.07.004 SN - 0075-9511 VL - 42 IS - 2 SP - 340 EP - 354 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Heitmann, Nadja A1 - Glemnitz, Michael A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Müller, Marina E. H. T1 - Unselective Transport of Phytopathogenic Fusarium Fungi from Litter and Soil by Ground-Dwelling Arthropods Links Semi-Natural and Agricultural Habitats T2 - Microorganisms N2 - The dispersal of propagules, such as fungal spores or seeds by actively moving animals, connects and shapes communities. The dispersal of plant pathogens by arthropods might be a crucial mechanism in the spread of several crop diseases. Ground-dwelling arthropods are potential linkers between fungal communities in semi-natural and agricultural habitats by transporting propagules of Fusarium fungi. We compared the Fusarium communities on the body surface of ground-dwelling arthropods with litter in semi-natural and soil in agricultural habitats with a focus on the Fusarium community. We found three relatively distinct Fusarium communities with moderate overlap. We detected a higher richness of Fusarium species on the body surface of arthropods compared to litter and soil communities. The results suggest that the Fusarium community on the body surface of arthropods relates to the composition observed in litter and soil with limited filtering mechanisms between communities. Ground-dwelling arthropods are relevant agents for the distribution of Fusarium and therefore link fungal communities in adjacent habitats. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10020335 SN - 2076-2607 VL - 10 IS - 2 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kober, Klarissa A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Glemnitz, Michael T1 - High soil moisture promotes the emergence of ground beetles and spiders from soils in wheat fields T2 - Basic and Applied Ecology N2 - Promoting arthropods in agricultural landscapes can contribute substantially to stop their decline and enhance pest control. Higher soil moisture and the presence of field margins can increase the abundance of arthropods in agricultural landscapes and influence their distribution within crop fields. However, little is known about the influence of soil moisture and distance from field margins on the overwintering of arthropods in arable fields. We investigated the influence of soil moisture and distance from a field margin on the numbers of arthropods, ground beetles and spiders emerging from soil in winter wheat fields. We established transects in winter wheat fields away from two different types of field margins: (i) around small standing water bodies (kettle holes) to capture a wide range of soil moisture values and (ii) other semi-natural landscape elements. At three distances (1 m, 20 m, 50 m), we sampled arthropods with emergence traps and measured soil moisture between March and June. We found that soil moisture had a positive effect on the emergence numbers of arthropods in general and ground beetles and spiders in particular. Distance from field margins generally had negative effects on the emergence numbers of ground beetles, but positive effects on the emergence numbers of spiders. Emergence numbers and soil moisture content did not differ significantly between the two types of field margins. The high emergence numbers inside the fields indicate that arable fields are important overwintering habitats for beneficial arthropods. Proper management of arable soils to promote soil water holding capacity and soil moisture content may have the added benefit of promoting the production of beneficial natural enemies from local soils. KW - Araneae KW - Carabidae KW - Crop edge KW - Distance gradient KW - Field boundaries KW - Generalist predators KW - Ponds KW - Potholes KW - Soil properties Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2024.09.001 SN - 1439-1791 IS - 80 SP - 72 EP - 80 ER -