Woody encroachment and livestock grazing modify plant, soil fungal and bacterial communities in subalpine grasslands in the Pyrenees

TY - JOUR

T1 - Woody encroachment and livestock grazing modify plant, soil fungal and bacterial communities in subalpine grasslands in the Pyrenees

AU - Wipulasena, A. Y.Ayesh Piyara

AU - Bueno, C. Guillermo

AU - Davison, John

AU - Koorem, Kadri

AU - Liira, Jaan

AU - Meng, Yiming

AU - Moora, Mari

AU - Püssa, Kersti

AU - Sepp, Siim Kaarel

AU - Vahter, Tanel

AU - Vasar, Martti

AU - Zobel, Martin

N1 - Data archiving: no NIOO data

PY - 2026/4/10

Y1 - 2026/4/10

N2 - Background and Aims: Woody vegetation encroachment in unmanaged semi-natural grasslands leads to a decline in plant diversity and alters community composition. Livestock grazing reinstatement can reverse this succession. However, despite their importance for terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem processes, the dynamics of associated soil microbial communities are not well understood. Methods: We examined plant and soil microbial communities, including fungal (arbuscular mycorrhizal, ectomycorrhizal, pathogenic, saprotrophic) and prokaryotic (rhizobia, non-rhizobial bacteria, archaea) communities, in mountain grasslands in the central Pyrenees experiencing different degrees of management and overgrowth by woody vegetation. Results: We found that plant richness declines and plant community composition changes substantially during woody encroachment. Analogous trends were observed in soil microbial communities, with AM fungal and bacterial communities showing the most distinct successional trajectories. A notable contrast was the significant increase in the richness of ECM fungi under the developing pine canopy. Livestock grazing reinstatement influenced soil microbial community composition but did not significantly affect plant community composition. Conclusions: Plant and soil microbial communities change synchronously during woody plant encroachment following livestock grazing cessation. Changes in plant communities are most pronounced, but strongly correlated changes also occur among AM fungi, pathogenic fungi and rhizobia, which have strong functional links with plants as symbionts or antagonists. Responses to restored livestock grazing were more apparent in soil microbial communities than plant communities, probably reflecting differences in diaspore persistence or dispersal efficiency.

AB - Background and Aims: Woody vegetation encroachment in unmanaged semi-natural grasslands leads to a decline in plant diversity and alters community composition. Livestock grazing reinstatement can reverse this succession. However, despite their importance for terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem processes, the dynamics of associated soil microbial communities are not well understood. Methods: We examined plant and soil microbial communities, including fungal (arbuscular mycorrhizal, ectomycorrhizal, pathogenic, saprotrophic) and prokaryotic (rhizobia, non-rhizobial bacteria, archaea) communities, in mountain grasslands in the central Pyrenees experiencing different degrees of management and overgrowth by woody vegetation. Results: We found that plant richness declines and plant community composition changes substantially during woody encroachment. Analogous trends were observed in soil microbial communities, with AM fungal and bacterial communities showing the most distinct successional trajectories. A notable contrast was the significant increase in the richness of ECM fungi under the developing pine canopy. Livestock grazing reinstatement influenced soil microbial community composition but did not significantly affect plant community composition. Conclusions: Plant and soil microbial communities change synchronously during woody plant encroachment following livestock grazing cessation. Changes in plant communities are most pronounced, but strongly correlated changes also occur among AM fungi, pathogenic fungi and rhizobia, which have strong functional links with plants as symbionts or antagonists. Responses to restored livestock grazing were more apparent in soil microbial communities than plant communities, probably reflecting differences in diaspore persistence or dispersal efficiency.

KW - Grassland abandonment

KW - Livestock grazing

KW - Semi-natural grasslands

KW - Soil microbial communities

KW - Woody encroachment

U2 - 10.1007/s11104-026-08531-6

DO - 10.1007/s11104-026-08531-6

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105035421899

SN - 0032-079X

JO - Plant and Soil

JF - Plant and Soil

ER -