Abstract
Supplementing plants with silicon (Si) often improves plant productivity and resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses, but this is mostly reported in highly controlled experimental environments. The ecological consequences of Si supplementation, including environmental benefits and potential risks, are therefore poorly understood and require field-scale evaluation of how Si supplementation affects the wider ecosystem, such as invertebrate communities and soil physicochemical properties. We conducted the first field assessment of how a legume (lucerne; Medicago sativa) agroecosystem and its associated invertebrate communities responded to two levels of Si supplementation (calcium silicate slag), over two years. We quantified seasonal changes in the abundance and diversity of aboveground arthropod communities, crop yield, elemental and nutritional chemistry, and soil pH as well as soil chemistry. The highest rate of Si supplementation increased bioavailable Si in the soil by 181% and soil pH from 5.2 to 6.3, relative to untreated plots, with a significant positive correlation between increased soil bioavailable Si and pH. Si supplementation led to an increase in crop yield by up to 52%; however, the magnitude varied with season. Foliar concentrations of Si tended to increase with Si supplementation, but this increase was marginally significant, potentially due to a dilution effect of higher shoot biomass. Si supplementation did not affect concentrations of most soil elements we quantified or forage quality of lucerne. We recorded over 13,600 arthropods; Si supplementation led to a shift in community structure and overall increased diversity of arthropod functional groups. Notably, the saprophytic fly family, Lauxaniidae was more abundant on Si-supplemented plots compared to untreated plots, potentially due to increased plant turnover. These results indicate that silicon supplementation of a legume agroecosystem, using a by-product of steel production, provides productivity benefits that outweigh some possible detrimental impacts on the ecosystem (i.e. decreased arthropod abundances, toxic metal contamination or reduced forage quality), which we did not detect in our current field study. This management intervention enhances crop yield, so could reduce the need for conventional fertilisers as well as changing soil pH to be more beneficial to crops and some arthropod groups.
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Claims 13
Claim · model-written summary
The highest silicon rate increased soil bioavailable silicon by 181% versus untreated plots.
- Taxon
- lucerne
Medicago sativae1 - Treatment
- highest rate of Si supplementatione0
- Outcome
- bioavailable Si in the soile0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 181%e0
- Comparator
- untreated plotse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The highest rate of Si supplementation increased bioavailable Si in the soil by 181% and soil pH from 5.2 to 6.3, relative to untreated plots”
e1“lucerne; Medicago sativa”
Claim · model-written summary
The highest silicon rate increased soil pH from 5.2 to 6.3 versus untreated plots.
- Taxon
- lucerneMedicago sativae1
- Treatment
- highest rate of Si supplementatione0
- Outcome
- soil pHe0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 5.2 to 6.3e0
- Comparator
- untreated plotse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The highest rate of Si supplementation increased bioavailable Si in the soil by 181% and soil pH from 5.2 to 6.3, relative to untreated plots”
e1“lucerne; Medicago sativa”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil bioavailable silicon and pH were positively correlated.
- Taxon
- lucerneMedicago sativae1
- Treatment
- Sie0
- Outcome
- soil bioavailable Si and pHe0
- Direction
- positive correlatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“a significant positive correlation between increased soil bioavailable Si and pH”
e1“lucerne; Medicago sativa”
Claim · model-written summary
Silicon supplementation increased crop yield by up to 52%, varying by season.
- Taxon
- lucerneMedicago sativae1
- Treatment
- Si supplementatione0
- Outcome
- crop yielde0
- Direction
- increasee0
- Value
- 52%e0
- Qualifier
- magnitude varied with seasone0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Si supplementation led to an increase in crop yield by up to 52%; however, the magnitude varied with season.”
e1“lucerne; Medicago sativa”
Claim · model-written summary
Foliar silicon tended to rise with supplementation, with marginal significance.
- Taxon
- lucerneMedicago sativae1
- Treatment
- Si supplementatione0
- Outcome
- Foliar concentrations of Sie0
- Direction
- increasee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Foliar concentrations of Si tended to increase with Si supplementation, but this increase was marginally significant”
e1“lucerne; Medicago sativa”
Claim · model-written summary
Silicon supplementation did not affect concentrations of most measured soil elements.
- Taxon
- lucerneMedicago sativae1
- Treatment
- Si supplementatione0
- Outcome
- concentrations of most soil elementse0
- Direction
- did not affecte0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Si supplementation did not affect concentrations of most soil elements we quantified”
e1“lucerne; Medicago sativa”
Claim · model-written summary
Silicon supplementation did not affect lucerne forage quality.
- Taxon
- lucerneMedicago sativae0
- Treatment
- Si supplementatione0
- Outcome
- forage qualitye0
- Direction
- did not affecte0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Si supplementation did not affect concentrations of most soil elements we quantified or forage quality of lucerne.”
Claim · model-written summary
Silicon supplementation shifted arthropod community structure.
- Taxon
- lucerneMedicago sativae1
- Treatment
- Si supplementatione0
- Interactor
- arthropode0other
- Outcome
- community structuree0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Si supplementation led to a shift in community structure and overall increased diversity of arthropod functional groups”
e1“lucerne; Medicago sativa”
Claim · model-written summary
Silicon supplementation increased diversity of arthropod functional groups.
- Taxon
- lucerneMedicago sativae1
- Treatment
- Si supplementatione0
- Interactor
- arthropode0other
- Outcome
- diversity of arthropod functional groupse0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Si supplementation led to a shift in community structure and overall increased diversity of arthropod functional groups”
e1“lucerne; Medicago sativa”
Claim · model-written summary
Lauxaniidae flies were more abundant in supplemented than untreated plots.
- Taxon
- lucerneMedicago sativae1
- Treatment
- Si-supplemented plotse0
- Interactor
- LauxaniidaeLauxaniidaee0other
- Outcome
- Lauxaniidae was more abundante0
- Direction
- more abundante0
- Comparator
- untreated plotse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the saprophytic fly family, Lauxaniidae was more abundant on Si-supplemented plots compared to untreated plots”
e1“lucerne; Medicago sativa”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors found no decreased arthropod abundance in the field study.
- Taxon
- lucerneMedicago sativae1
- Interactor
- arthropode0other
- Outcome
- decreased arthropod abundancese0
- Direction
- did not detecte0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“decreased arthropod abundances, toxic metal contamination or reduced forage quality), which we did not detect in our current field study”
e1“lucerne; Medicago sativa”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors found no toxic metal contamination in the field study.
- Taxon
- lucerneMedicago sativae1
- Outcome
- toxic metal contaminatione0
- Direction
- did not detecte0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“toxic metal contamination or reduced forage quality), which we did not detect in our current field study”
e1“lucerne; Medicago sativa”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors suggest silicon supplementation could reduce the need for conventional fertilizers.
- Taxon
- lucerneMedicago sativae1
- Outcome
- reduce the need for conventional fertiliserse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“This management intervention enhances crop yield, so could reduce the need for conventional fertilisers”
e1“lucerne; Medicago sativa”
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See all 13 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.