Vegetation Heterogeneity Effects on Soil Macro-Arthropods in an Alpine Tundra of the Changbai Mountains, China.

Yan Tao,Haixia Wang,Jiawei Xu,Chen Ma,Yinghua Jin,Zhongqiang Wang,Hongshi He,Xiaoxue Zheng

doi:10.3390/plants8100418

Abstract

The harsh environmental conditions in alpine tundra exert a significant influence on soil macro-arthropod communities, yet few studies have been performed regarding the effects of vegetation heterogeneity on these communities. In order to better understand this question, a total of 96 soil macro-arthropod samples were collected from four habitats in the Changbai Mountains in China, namely, the Vaccinium uliginosum habitat, Sanguisorba sitchensis habitat, Rhododendron aureum habitat, and Deyeuxia angustifolia habitat. The results revealed that the taxonomic composition of the soil macro-arthropods varied among the habitats, and that dissimilarities existed in these communities. The abundance, richness and diversity in the D. angustifolia habitat were all at their maximum during the sampling period. The vegetation heterogeneity affected the different taxa of the soil macro-arthropods at various levels. In addition, the vegetation heterogeneity had direct effects not only on soil macro-arthropod communities, but also indirectly impacted the abundance, richness and diversity by altering the soil fertility and soil texture. Overall, our results provide experimental evidence that vegetation heterogeneity can promote the abundance, richness and diversity of soil macro-arthropods, yet the responses of soil macro-arthropods to vegetation heterogeneity differed among their taxa.

Highlights

The “habitat heterogeneity hypothesis” [1] states that the number of available ecological niches will increase as habitats gradually become more complex, which will have positive effects on the abilities of species to coexist [2]
A total of 2848 soil macro-arthropods belonging to 28 taxa and 11 orders were collected from the four habitats
Various soil macro-arthropods taxonomic compositions and distribution patterns were observed in Various macro-arthropods taxonomic compositions and distribution patterns our were observed the four plantsoil communities to be caused by vegetation heterogeneity, and this confirmed hypothesis in the plant communities to be by vegetation heterogeneity, this confirmed our that thefour distribution patterns of the soilcaused macro-arthropods differ in each plantand community are caused hypothesis that the distribution of the soil differ in each plant community by vegetation heterogeneity (H1).patterns

Summary

Introduction

The “habitat heterogeneity hypothesis” [1] states that the number of available ecological niches will increase as habitats gradually become more complex, which will have positive effects on the abilities of species to coexist [2]. This hypothesis indicates that vegetation heterogeneity will increase diversity, which will cause a range of cascading changes in ecological processes and functions, and is crucial for maintaining the stability of the ecosystem [3,4]. Soil arthropods, as indicator species, have become an important topic in the study of belowground systems. The distribution patterns and diversity characteristics of soil arthropods are affected by various factors (such as plant communities, litter and soil properties), and the evidence of relationships between soil arthropods and these factors is substantial [10,11]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion