Food Webs in Soil: An Interface Between Population and Ecosystem Ecology

Summary

We propose that the population dynamics of soil organisms can be linked to ecosystem processes by studies of food webs. Key questions concern the types of trophic interactions occurring between functional groups, and if consumers influence their resources in detritus-based food webs. Carbon and nitrogen dynamics are tightly linked in terrestrial ecosystems, suggesting that classic food web theory without “productivity feedbacks” probably is insufficient to analyze the relation between food web structure and ecosystem processes. A theory of carbon dynamics and soil food webs is outlined. We show that food web structure may influence decomposition rate, even if the trophic interactions are donor-controlled.