Seasonal changes in soil arthropod abundance in the dry evergreen forest of north‐east Thailand, with special reference to collembolan communities

Abstract

AbstractA soil arthropod community was studied in a dry evergreen forest over a 3‐year period from May 1998 to April 2001. Population abundance, species composition, and community structure were investigated over the 3‐year study period. The soil arthropods consisted of Acari (75.38%), Collembola (16.11%), and others (8.51%), and their abundances showed a clear difference between the rainy and dry seasons. Population abundance of Collembola and Acari were low during drought conditions. The humidity was the most important factor determining distribution, abundance, and survival of soil Collembola in this tropical forest. High predation and low accumulation of organic matter caused low population abundance of Collembola in the tropical habitat. The collembolan community was dominated by a few dominant species over the study period. The pattern of seasonal changes in numbers of Collembola was similar over the 3‐year study period. The species composition of the collembolan community was constant and persistent throughout a 3‐year study period. Thus, the collembolan community showed constancy in its species composition with seasonal variability over the 3‐year study period.