Vertical distribution and seasonal dynamics of arboreal collembolan communities in a Japanese cedar ( Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) plantation

Abstract

Summary We discuss the spatial distributions and seasonal dynamics of arboreal collembolan communities in a Cryptomeria japonica D. Don plantation and their spatiotemporal patterns and processes of stratification between the canopy and soil in relation to the vertical structure of the forest. We sampled dead branches with foliage in the canopy (canopy litter) and forest-floor litter (soil litter) and extracted 6 species of arboreal collembolans from both. The species composition of the collembolan community differed greatly between the canopy litter and soil litter. The density of all collembolans per unit litter mass showed a unimodal seasonal pattern, and ranged from 0.98 to 17.25 g−1 dry weight (canopy) and from 1.42 to 30.87 g−1 dry weight (soil) during the study period. Collembolan species dominant in the canopy were divided into two groups: species collected from both the canopy litter and soil litter, and species only collected from the canopy litter. The component species of these collembolan communities presented different temporal distributions in one or both habitats. Both the vertical and seasonal patterns indicated that the spatiotemporal distributions of arboreal collembolans in the C. japonica forest were highly species-specific.