Plant functional group is increasingly recognized as vital for supporting multiple ecosystem functions simultaneously. However, variations in “ecosystem multifunctionality” relative to plant functional groups remain unclear, particularly in Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems. In particular, how plant presence relates to multifunctionality, whether this directly relates to their carbon inputs, or indirectly, via local changes in...

Aim Woody plant encroachment is reshaping grassland ecosystem functions worldwide. While its aboveground impacts are well documented, how this process alters microbial communities—key drivers of belowground processes—remains poorly understood. We aimed to (1) quantify the general effects of global woody plant encroachment on soil microbial community attributes in grasslands and (2) identify the abiotic and biotic factors drivi...

Global change drivers, such as shrub encroachment, alter above‐ and belowground communities, and the consequences of these changes for ecosystem functioning are largely unknown. We used the modified Price equation to quantify how the presence of shrubs alters the richness, composition, and abundance of plant and nematode communities and the resulting effects on ecosystem functioning (i.e., plant biomass and nematode carbon [C]...

Antarctica terrestrial ecosystems are facing the most threats from global climate change, which is altering plant composition greatly. These transformations may cause major reshuffling of soil community composition, including functional traits and diversity, and therefore affect ecosystem processes in Antarctica. We used high‐throughput sequencing analysis to investigate soil nematodes under 3 dominant plant functional groups...

Land use and climate change alter biodiversity patterns and ecosystem functioning worldwide. Land abandonment with consequent shrub encroachment and changes in precipitation gradients are known factors in global change. Yet, the consequences of interactions between these factors on the functional diversity of belowground communities remain insufficiently explored. Here, we investigated the dominant shrub effects on the functio...