Abstract
Urbanization, as a major cause of local species extinction and biotic homogenization, drastically alters soil life. Millipedes are a key group of soil macrodetritivores and significantly influence soil quality, mainly through their essential role in nutrient cycling. Therefore, studying their taxonomic and functional responses to urban disturbance is crucial, as they contribute to the provision of several soil-related ecosystem services in cities. Differently degraded rural, urban forests and other woody patches (e.g., parks, gardens, and cemeteries) were sampled on Buda and Pest sides of the Budapest metropolitan area divided by the Danube River. We measured the most relevant physical and chemical properties of topsoil to characterize habitats. We applied an urbanization index based on vegetation cover and built-up area of the study sites to quantify urban intensity. The composition of the assemblages was determined by the division of the city along the Danube. Urbanization was associated with a reduction in species and functional richness of millipedes on both sides of Budapest. β diversity and species turnover increased with urban intensity. Urban disturbance was the main driver in assembly of taxonomic and functional community composition. A new species (Cylindroiulus caeruleocinctus (Wood, 1864)) to the fauna of Budapest was found. Detritivore invertebrates depend on leaf litter and other dead organic matter types, therefore microsites providing these resources greatly improve their survival. Due to increasing urban disturbance, it is recommended to provide appropriate detritus and shelter sites as part of the management of green spaces in order to maintain species richness, abundance, and function of species.
Highlights
Urban land-use is one of the most dominant forms of human activities in the world [1]
We found a new species to the fauna of the city, Cylindroiulus caeruleocinctus (Wood, 1864), which occurred only in one city park on the Pest side
Our study showed that urban soil disturbance has detrimental effects on species and functional richness of Diplopoda assemblages on both sides of Budapest
Summary
Urban land-use is one of the most dominant forms of human activities in the world [1]. Urban areas continue to expand, causing anthropogenic disturbance of remaining natural habitats in a variety of ways; for example: Environmental pollution, habitat fragmentation, soil sealing and dispersion of exotic species, etc. Urban landscapes are generally characterized by destruction and a gradual replacement of native biota [2]. Urbanization, causing local extinctions, does not always lead to a reduction in species richness, but rather to a shift in species composition, resulting in biotic homogenization of natural communities [3]. Homogenization of urban communities has been proven for several taxa, such as plants [5], microbes [6], insect orders [7,8] and birds [9]. Soil macrodetrtivores, including millipedes, are heavily underrepresented in existing studies
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