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Fig. 1 | Forest Ecosystems

Fig. 1

From: Plant–rodent interactions after a heavy snowfall decrease plant regeneration and soil carbon emission in an old-growth forest

Fig. 1

A conceptual diagram showing how exclusion of rodents could decrease soil carbon emissions in a sub-tropical forest. We hypothesized that more seeds in soil would remain and geminate in plots without than with rodents because rodents consume seeds. The colored circles along the top sides of the upper rectangles represent the plant species whose seeds would survive predation by rodents. As a consequence of rodent exclusion, more seeds of more species would germinate following an extreme weather event (a heavy snowfall), resulting in sustained inputs of carbon to the soil via litter and rhizodeposition and the maintenance of soil carbon pools (bottom left rectangle). If rodents are not excluded, fewer seeds of fewer species would germinate following a heavy snowfall, resulting in a decrease of carbon inputs into soil and a decrease of soil carbon pools (bottom right rectangle)

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