Land use modulates the effects of climate change on density but not community composition of Collembola

Abstract

Collembola are highly abundant and diverse soil animals and play key roles in litter decomposition and nutrient cycling. Given their functional significance, it is important to understand their responses to human-induced global changes, such as climate change and land-use intensification. Here, we utilized an experimental field study, to test the interactive effects of climate (ambient vs. future) and land use (five land-use regimes, from extensively-used meadow to conventional farming) on three eco-morphological life forms of Collembola: epedaphic, hemiedaphic, and euedaphic species. We found that the effects of climate change on Collembola density were modulated by land use, and that the responses of different life forms to climate × land use interaction differed in magnitude and/or direction. The densities of total and hemiedaphic Collembola significantly decreased under organic farming and marginally increased in grasslands under future climatic conditions, whereas epedaphic Collembola tended to decrease their density with climate change in grasslands. In contrast, the density of euedaphic Collembola significantly increased with climate change in intensively-used grasslands. Further, we found that grasslands (especially extensively-used meadow) support the most abundant Collembola communities, with high species richness but low evenness. Multivariate analyses revealed independent effects of climate change and land-use intensification on Collembola community composition. Together, our findings indicate that the effects of climate change on Collembola communities depend on their life forms and land-use types. Surface-dwelling Collembola are more vulnerable to land use and climate change than those living in deeper soil layers. This may slow down the process of soil-surface litter decomposition in a changing world.