Relationships between soil chemistry, microbial biomass and the collembolan fauna of southern Québec sugar maple stands

Abstract

The relationships between the presence of endogeic and epigeic collembolan species and chemical and microbiological top soil parameters were examined for eight sugar maple forests. While the composition of the tree strata was similar among sites, the soil conditions varied widely and encompassed three regions of different geological origins as well as contrasting humus types. Endogeic species were extracted using Berlese-Tullgren equipment, whereas epigeic species were collected with pit-light traps (Luminoc®). In all, 92 species from 14 families and 36 genera were identified. The association between sampling locations and soil parameters was determined by principal component analysis (PCA), and the relationships between epigeic and endogeic collembolan communities and soil parameters were determined by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA and DCCA). The DCCA revealed that the distribution of endogeic species of the collembolan fauna was related to organic matter content, including pH, C, N, and C/N ratio. Sites were clustered according to humus types. Epigeic species were influenced by available P and exchangeable K and Mg. Sites were clustered according to geographical distribution, suggesting that for epigeic species, regional occurrence could be a stronger determinant of community composition than soil parameters.