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A Comparative Analysis of Soil Fauna Populations and Their Role in Decomposition Processes
Abstract
A general evaluation of the density and biomass data discusses the effect of various sampling and extraction factors on the annual mean estimates on which the analysis has been primarily based. The information pertaining to individual sites and soil fauna groups has been condensed into a methodology code which is presented along with site code, site characterization and relevant references. The distribution of density and biomass estimates as related to biome, soil moisture, pH, and presence of a top soil organic accumulation horizon is examined. The difference between the faunal composition and biomass in mull and mor soils is confirmed. An inverse relationship between weight of organic material on the soil surface and the total soil fauna biomass is suggested. A general decrease of total soil fauna biomass is observed from the temperate deciduous forest biome and the secondary grasslands of the same climatic zone northwards to the tropical forests and savannas, accompanied by change in composition of the main soil fauna groups. Information on food selectivity and palatability is reviewed. Niche exploitation and mechanisms for amelioration of inter- and intra-specific competition for food resources is discussed. The soil fauna appears generally to be responsible for less than about 5% of total decomposer respiration: their direct contribution to ecosystem metabolism is insignificant. In contrast, the indirect catalytic role of the soil fauna is emphasized.-from Authors
... 11 (Detailed review Paper on Aquatic Testing methods for Pesticides and Industrial Chemicals (Paris 1998) 1 ). The method is also recommended by SETAC 2 and in the EU Guidance Document for risk assessment for the soil environment for pesticides 3 , biocides and industrial chemicals 4 . ...
... Population densities of Collembola commonly reach 10 5 m -2 In soil and leaf litter layers in many terrestrial ecosystems [3,4]. Because of their small size however, adults typically measure 0.5 -5 mm their contribution to total soil animal biomass and respiration is low, estimated at being between 1 and 5% [5]. ...
The aim of the present project was to develop a draft proposal for an OECD
test guideline for long-term toxicity-testing of Collembola (see Annex A). The
draft guideline was based on two existing standardised test methods, one for
Folsomia fimetaria (Wiles & Krogh, 1998) and one for Folsomia candida (ISO,
1999), which were combined and updated.
The test on F. candida employs an asexually reproducing species typically
living in the organic matter of compost heaps or pot-plants, whereas the test
on F. fimetaria employs a sexually reproducing species living in garden and
agricultural soils. Accordingly for the test on F. fimetaria the effect on sexual
reproduction is obtained. This latter may be seen as a more ecologically
relevant endpoint than effects on asexual reproduction, as sexual reproduction
is the most frequent reproductive strategy of soil dwelling organisms. In
addition, effects on the sexual reproduction of F. fimetaria would include
effects caused by chemicals that act via a disturbance of the sex-determination
system in arthropods. In the present project the possibility of including a
simple test for effects on the sex-determination was investigated, but this was
not successful. Given distinct life strategies (and sizes) initial studies were
performed investigating possible general sensitivity differences between the
two species. The results indicate a difference in chemical sensitivity both
according to species and to life-stage, but the differences could only partly be
explained by size-differences.
To prepare for a ring-test of the draft test guideline three compounds were
tested fipronil, 3,5-dichlorophenol and boric acid. Future test concentration
ranges were identified for these compounds.
... Acari and Collembola, key constituents of soil microarthropods, are among the most abundant and diverse soil fauna [27,28]. Serving as indicator organisms of soil quality [29,30], they occupy various soil and litter layers [31]. ...
Ecosystem engineers influence the structure and function of soil food webs through non-trophic interactions. The activity of large soil animals, such as earthworms, has a significant impact on the soil microarthropod community. However, the influence of millipedes on soil microarthropod communities remains largely unknown. In this microcosm experiment, we examined the effects of adding, removing, and restricting millipede activity on Acari and Collembola communities in litter and soil by conducting two destructive sampling sessions on days 10 and 30, respectively. At the time of the first sampling event (10 d), Acari and Collembola abundance was shown to increase and the alpha diversity went higher in the treatments with millipedes. At the time of the second sampling event (30 d), millipedes significantly reduced the Collembola abundance and alpha diversity. The results were even more pronounced as the millipedes moved through the soil, which caused the collembolans to be more inclined to inhabit the litter, which in turn resulted in the increase in the abundance and diversity of Acari in the soil. The rapid growth of Collembola in the absence of millipedes significantly inhibited the abundance of Acari. The presence of millipedes altered the community structure of Acari and Collembola, leading to a stronger correlation between the two communities. Changes in these communities were driven by the dominant taxa of Acari and Collembola. These findings suggest that millipedes, as key ecosystem engineers, have varying impacts on different soil microarthropods. This study enhances our understanding of biological interactions and offers a theoretical foundation for soil biodiversity conservation.
... Maintaining an undisturbed understorey benefits the development of larger soil arthropod populations (Blaise et al. 2022;Castro, Tortosa, and Carpio 2021;Mantoni et al. 2021). The main arthropods that have been encountered belong to the taxa Scarabaeidae, Tenebrionidae, Acari, Collembolla, Isopoda and Thysanura (Moore, Walter, and Hunt 1988;Petersen and Luxton 1982;Stork and Eggleton 1992;Wurst 2013). Arthropods found in the soil of the understorey of olive groves have been shown to be able to contribute to the integrated treatment of the olive fly (Daane and Johnson 2010). ...
The agricultural sector has been intensifying production systems to increase yields. Olive cultivation is the most widespread permanent crop in Europe and the Mediterranean region and in many cases, it is under intensive farming practices with heavy use of agrochemicals, greatly affecting olive grove biodiversity. In this study we investigate the impact of different understorey management practices (undisturbed, cleared with mechanical means) on plant cover, ground beetle and bee richness and abundance, and on the abundance of ground arthropods and flying insects in olive groves on Lesvos Island, North Aegean, Greece. We found that undisturbed understorey had a positive impact on plant richness and abundance, ground beetle and bee richness and abundance, as well as ground arthropod and flying insect abundance. The results suggest that maintaining the plant cover undisturbed significantly improves the biodiversity of the olive groves and by extension the ecosystem services, such as pollination, pest control and soil health.
... This is supported by recent estimates that soils harbor approximately 59% of all species on Earth (Anthony et al. 2023). Key belowground ecosystem services, such as litter decomposition and carbon and nitrogen cycling, are intrinsically linked to the functioning of aboveground systems (Bardgett and van der Putten 2014) and are largely facilitated by microorganisms and microarthropods, such as oribatid mites (Oribatida: Acari) (Petersen andLuxton 1982, Schaefer 1991). Thus, there is an urgent need to determine whether belowground communities are following similar declines compared to those observed in aboveground communities, and to disentangle the drivers and potential threats that shape soil microarthropod communities (Geisen et al. 2019, Tibbett et al. 2020). ...
Biodiversity and biomass of aboveground arthropods in central European forests continuously declined during the last decade. However, whether belowground microarthropod communities follow similar patterns has not been investigated. In this study, we compared the abundance, diversity, community composition, stability and asynchrony of oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) sampled in four forest types of increasing management intensity (unmanaged beech, old managed beech, young managed beech, and coniferous) at three‐year intervals from 2008 to 2020. Forest sites were replicated in three regions in southern, central and northern Germany, i.e. the Swabian Alb, Hainich‐Dün and the Schorfheide Chorin, which differ in soil characteristics and climate. We found 25 152 individuals and 121 species of oribatid mites and detected no linear decline in abundance and diversity over the last decade, suggesting that microarthropods in forest soils are buffered against land‐use effects. However, we observed that years with low winter precipitation in regions with soils that are prone to drought, resulted in significant decreases in oribatid mite densities. Community compositions remained similar across sampling years, but differed between regions and forest types, predominantly due to differences in the proportion of asexual individuals. The stability of oribatid mite communities did not decrease in managed forests and was highest in deep soils with high water‐holding capacity, which may reduce temporal variation, suggesting that soil properties are more important for the stability of oribatid mite communities than forest management. However, stability patterns were not explained by asynchrony in species fluctuations, as all communities either showed a high degree of synchrony or were not different from random. Our study highlights that the temporal dynamics of belowground communities may differ from those aboveground, and that regional differences in precipitation and soil properties are more important than forest types.
... They are the dominant soil microarthropod group in Central European forests, reaching local densities of up to 400,000 ind. m -2 , comprising more than 100 species (Petersen and Luxton, 1982;Maraun and Scheu, 2000;Behan-Pelletier and Lindo, 2022). Many species of oribatid mites have long life cycles of 1-3 years in temperate regions. ...
Most forests in Central Europe are subject to human management, especially timber harvesting, which alters soil conditions by creating gaps in the forest canopy and reduces the availability of deadwood. However, consequences of these management practices, in particular the combined effect of gap formation and deadwood removal, have been largely neglected. Here, we investigated the abundance, diversity and community composition of oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) in forests where deadwood availability and gap formation were manipulated in a full factorial design (Control, Gap, Deadwood, Gap + Deadwood). Forest gaps of about 30 m in diameter were established by felling trees, which were subsequently removed (Gap) or left on site as deadwood (Gap + Deadwood). Nearby forest sites without gaps were enriched with the equal amount of felled trees (Deadwood) or left untreated (Control). Experimental treatments were established at 29 forest sites including deciduous and coniferous stands in three regions of Germany, i.e. the Swabian Alb, Hanich-Dün and Schorfheide-Chorin in the south, center and north, respectively. One year after establishment of the treatments, we sampled 10,777 individuals and 104 species of oribatid mites. Deadwood addition significantly increased the density of oribatid mites in the Hainich-Dün from 24,036 to 46,658 ind. m-2. Specifically, species of Oppiidae with relatively short life cycles and high reproductive output benefited from the additional deadwood supply, resulting in shifts in community compositions between treatments with and without deadwood. By contrast, mean oribatid mite density decreased from an average of 64,083 in controls to 36,621 ind. m-2 in forest gaps of the Schorfheide-Chorin and the Swabian Alb. Presumably, adverse abiotic conditions, mainly amplified drought, induced higher mortality rates in these regions. Overall, deadwood addition and forest gap formation had strong effects on oribatid mite communities, although the magnitude of each effect was similar between forest types and largely determined by regional context. This emphasizes that the effects of forest management practices on oribatid mite communities cannot be generalized across regional scales, suggesting that management plans should carefully consider regional differences.
... The significance of soil biodiversity on the process of litter decomposition has also been long recognised (David, 2014;González and Seastedt, 2001). Macro-and mesofauna groups in particular (from here on referred to as soil fauna) have been linked to the decomposition process directly (via litter ingestion) and indirectly (via fragmentation) (Petersen and Luxton, 1982;Wang et al., 2015;Xin et al., 2012). ...
Litter decomposition is vital for the maintenance of soil health and long-term sustainability of agricultural landscapes. Soil macro-and mesofauna facilitate decomposition and nutrient cycling ensuring nutrient availability for microbes and plants. Yet, how agricultural land-use intensity and environmental conditions influence the contribution of fauna to the process of litter decomposition remains poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, a litter decomposition study was conducted in annual crops under conservation, conventional, and livestock-integrated agricultural management, with undisturbed natural grasslands as reference sites. Within each site, four pairs of litterbags of two mesh sizes containing fresh leaves of perennial Lolium perenne were used to allow (coarse mesh) and exclude (fine mesh) macro-and mesofauna effects on decomposition. The litterbags were collected at monthly intervals for a period of four months and analysed for fauna diversity and decomposition rates. The highest decomposition estimates were recorded within the integrated and conservation farming sites, and this was attributed to favourable habitat conditions, which supported a balance of diverse functional fauna communities. Litter mass loss was higher in the presence of soil fauna within the coarse mesh litterbags compared to fine mesh where fauna was excluded. Litter mass loss was not significantly associated with arthropod diversity or abundance but was strongly linked to arthropod species richness. The contributions of fauna to decomposition were affected by temperature, soil moisture and land-use intensity. These results highlight that less intensively managed and diversified agricultural systems maintain functional biodiversity which drive the process of litter decomposition and therefore nutrient cycling.
... All three may be involved in shaping the observed distribution, however, their relative importance may vary by taxon and habitat (Wehner et al, 2016). Fewer mites occur in tropical forest soils than in temperate forest soils (Petersen and Luxton, 1982). One explanation may be that there are more sexually reproducing species there . ...
Ecological indication potential of oribatid mites has been emphasized by researchers for several decades. These small arthropods possess biological characteristics through which they are able to indicate different changes in their environment. Oribatid mites can be found in almost every kind of habitat worldwide: terrestrial and aquatic habitats, and a lot of types of microhabitats (e.g, soil, lichen, moss, tree bark, foliage). Apart from the diversity of habitats, their huge adaptation ability is also shown by great abundance and species richness. In most habitats, they constitute the largest proportion of microarthropods. This study deals with works whose results point to the characteristics of oribatid mites that would allow their wider use in the ecological indication than at present.
Termites (Isoptera) constitute a considerable fraction of the global animal biomass. Conventionally, termite dry biomass estimates (g) range between 1:3 and 1:6 of fresh biomass (g). But estimates are often based on a few species or coarse taxonomic resolution. In this study, we (1) calculated the fresh and dry mass of 15 widely distributed Neotropical termite species (three families) and (2) established the conversion ratio for dry mass, which is indispensable for biomass estimates. Workers and soldiers were sampled in their colonies and quickly weighed in the laboratory to obtain the fresh mass. Then, the individuals were placed in 80% alcohol for 5 days and weighed. Finally, the samples were dried at 60°C for 24 h and weighed again. Our results suggest an average ratio of 1:4.2 (dry‐to‐fresh mass), with a mean (±SE) conversion ratio of 0.24 ± 0.06, for estimating termite biomass at local, regional, and global scales. Moreover, our results demonstrate that values from termites preserved in alcohol could still be used to estimate biomass. Specifically, after insertion in alcohol, the termites lost 16.9%–56% of their water content, with an average of 26.5%. While this represents a source of bias in estimates using samples from biological collections, dry mass was significantly related to fresh mass ( = 0.99; dry mass = 0.000055 + 0.22 × fresh mass), and to the mass of termites in alcohol ( = 0.97; dry mass = 0.00014 + 0.26 × mass in alcohol). Applying our results to data from the literature indicates that global termite dry biomass ranges from 89 to 106 Mt.
Soil mesofauna play pertinent roles in soil processes. For example, microarthropods strongly influence rates of microbial decomposition. The relationship between mesofauna and their environment are understudied in low Arctic ecosystems compared to other regions. A more detailed grasp of these soil assemblages is necessary for understanding the current functioning of these ecosystems. We characterized the soil mesofauna community across different low Arctic habitats to determine which soil properties commonly correlated with soil fauna would best explain their distribution, abundance, and diversity. Samples were taken near five different lakes in northern Finland, in both alpine meadows and sub-alpine birch forests, across a span of available soil habitats (measured by pH, salinity, organic and nitrogen content, soil moisture). Total abundance of the mesofauna community was influenced by a combination of soil factors, but most individual taxa, as well as measures of diversity were best explained by models of one or two influential soil parameters. Poduromorpha springtails and Oribatid mites were best modeled by measures of resource availability, although only Oribatids were significantly, positively related to these resources. All mites and Entomobryomorphid springtails were positively influenced by physicochemical soil moisture and/or salinity. Salinity, in particular, had a strong influence on overall mesofauna community composition. Our results provide further insight into soil fauna assemblages in Northern Finland and further, more extensive research would contribute to a more comprehensive foundation. This will allow for better monitoring of community changes and responses in the face of climate change in the low Arctic.
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