Fig. 3: Forest conversion simplifies soil multitrophic networks and reduces their stability.
From: Forest conversion-induced soil biota homogenization destabilizes ecosystem functions
Co-occurrence networks of soil biota functional groups in (a) natural forests and (b) agricultural lands. Connections represent strong (Spearman’s |r| > 0.5) and significant (P ≤ 0.05) correlations. Node size is proportional to the number of connections (degree). c Network robustness, measured as the proportion of taxa remaining after random node removal. (d–f) Effects of forest conversion (FC) on network stability, positive cohesion, and negative cohesion. Significance is indicated by asterisks (linear mixed-effects models; ***P ≤ 0.001). Red and blue violin plots show the data distribution for natural forests and agricultural lands, respectively; horizontal lines and dots within plots represent the median and mean values.
