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Data from: Do Tasmanian devil declines impact ecosystem function?

Stephenson, Torrey1

Published Jul 09, 2024; Updated Jul 23, 2024 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cc2fqz6d9

Data files

Jul 09, 2024 version files 118.12 MB
Jul 23, 2024 version files 903.69 MB

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Abstract

Tasmanian eucalypt forests are among the most carbon-dense in the world, but projected changes in climate could destabilize this critical carbon sink. While the impact of abiotic factors on forest ecosystem carbon dynamics have received considerable attention, biotic factors, such as the input of animal scat, are less understood. Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii)—an osteophageous scavenger that can ingest and solubilize nutrients locked in bone material—may subsidize plant and microbial productivity by concentrating bioavailable nutrients (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus) in scat latrines. Dramatic declines in devil population densities are driven by the spread of a transmissible cancer and may have underappreciated consequences for soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and forest productivity by altering nutrient cycling. Here, we fuse experimental data and modeling to quantify and predict future changes to forest productivity and SOC under various climate and scat-quality futures. We find that devil scat significantly increases concentrations of nitrogen, ammonium, phosphorus, and phosphate in the soil, and shifts soil microbial communities towards those dominated by r-selected (e.g., fast-growing) phyla. Further, under simulated increases in temperature and precipitation, devil scat inputs are projected to increase above- and belowground net primary productivity and microbial biomass carbon through 2100. In contrast, when devil scat is replaced by lower-quality scat (e.g., from non-osteophageous scavengers and herbivores), forest carbon pools either increase more slowly or decline. Together, our results suggest biotic factors will interact with climate change to drive current and future carbon pool dynamics in Tasmanian forests.