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Plant induced spatial distribution of nematodes in a semi-natural grassland

    Publication: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

    Abstract

    This study describes the nematode community in a semi-natural grassland and investigates if certain individual plant species can cause a spatial structure in the nematode fauna. Nematode communities were analysed in soil under Trifolium repens, Festuca ovina and from randomly taken samples. Seventy-nine nematode genera were identified. Some of the species found have not previously been reported from Sweden. Multivariate analysis separated the nematode communities associated with the two selected plant species from each other, and several individual nematode genera differed in abundance between the plant species. Trifolium repens supported greater populations of the plant feeder Tylenchorhynchus and the bacterial feeders Eucephalobus, Chiloplacus, Eumonhystera and Panagrolaimus, but fewer numbers of the bacterial feeder Achromadora. Soil under F. ovina contained more nematodes from the family Alaimidae. A comparison is given with other studies from grassland systems in Sweden.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)131-142
    Number of pages12
    JournalNematology
    Volume9
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2007

    Keywords

    • Festuca ovina
    • nematode community structure
    • rotifers
    • Sweden
    • tardigrades
    • Trifolium repens

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