Soil Invertebrate Abundance Research Articles

Rain gardens enhance the taxonomic richness but not the abundance of soil invertebrates in urban ecosystems

Natural treatment systems such as rain gardens aim to overcome the negative effects of urban stormwater, preventing harm to human population and infrastructure. Rain gardens house an abundance of soil fauna comprising a functionally important group of organisms. However, the responses of different groups of soil fauna to rain gardens remain poorly explored. In this study, we investigated the abundance, taxonomic richness, taxonomic diversity, and community composition of ground-dwelling and belowground invertebrates in rain gardens and nearby lawns in Nanjing and Zhenjiang cities, China. In Nanjing, we found that the taxonomic richness of ground-dwelling and belowground invertebrates was significantly higher in rain gardens than in lawns. We also discovered that the community composition of ground-dwelling invertebrates differed significantly between rain gardens and lawns, a distinction primarily explained by gravel coverage. However, in Zhenjiang, there were no significant differences in the abundance, taxonomic richness, taxonomic diversity, or community composition of ground-dwelling and belowground invertebrates between rain gardens and lawns. These results indicate that the effects of rain gardens on soil faunal community structure varied with soil fauna groups and cities. Considering that soil fauna have positive effects on the function of rain gardens such as water infiltration and decomposition, we suggest that the addition of ground surface mulch such as gravel may enhance soil biodiversity.

A predictive indicator assessing effect of cropping system and surrounding landscape on biodiversity

Biodiversity is a key component of agricultural ecosystems and belongs to one of the exceeded planetary boundaries. In the quest for innovation to mitigate impact, it is essential to have tools to assess the anthropogenic impact on biodiversity. In this study, we developed a new indicator, I-BIO that aimed to predict the impacts of management practices and the influence of the landscape on overall biodiversity at species group level. I-BIO encompassed four groups: microorganisms, vegetation, invertebrates and vertebrates. This predictive indicator was built using DEXi software that facilitates the design of hierarchical decision trees, based on input variables in the form of qualitative classes, aggregated using utility functions. I-BIO was constructed using data from a long-term platform in Scotland and then applied to two data sets in France and one in Scotland. The results showed that the lowest class is predominant for all branches especially for invertebrates and soil invertebrates. Monte Carlo sampling was used to test for sensitivity. Then, a validation step was carried out to compare I-BIO outputs with real data using data on the four groups from Scottish and French datasets. I-BIO predictions of weed and soil invertebrate abundance conformed to field data. Due to low numbers of samples, validation of microorganisms, flying invertebrates and vertebrates predictions require more data. Future developments of I-BIO will focus on predictions specifically to assess the impact of management on species richness. Avenues for improvement include a better integration of landscape features and the history of agricultural practices as they both have a great influence on biodiversity.

Collation of a century of soil invertebrate abundance data suggests long-term declines in earthworms but not tipulids.

Large-scale declines in terrestrial insects have been reported over much of Europe and across the world, however, population change assessments of other key invertebrate groups, such as soil invertebrates, have been largely neglected through a lack of available monitoring data. This study collates historic data from previously published studies to assess whether it is possible to infer previously undocumented long-term changes in soil invertebrate abundance. Earthworm and tipulid data were collated from over 100 studies across the UK, spanning almost 100 years. Analyses suggested long-term declines in earthworm abundance of between 1.6 to 2.1% per annum, equivalent to a 33% to 41% decline over 25 years. These appeared greatest in broadleaved woodlands and farmland habitats, and were greater in pasture than arable farmland. Significant differences in earthworm abundance between habitats varied between models but appeared to be highest in urban greenspaces and agricultural pasture. More limited data were available on tipulid abundance, which showed no significant change over time or variation between enclosed farmland and unenclosed habitats. Declines in earthworm populations could be contributing to overall declines in ecosystem function and biodiversity as they are vital for a range of ecosystem services and are keystone prey for many vertebrate species. If robust, our results identify a previously undetected biodiversity decline that would be a significant conservation and economic issue in the UK, and if replicated elsewhere, internationally. We highlight the need for long-term and large-scale soil invertebrate monitoring, which potentially could be carried out by citizen/community scientists.

The impact of restoration methods for Solidago-invaded land on soil invertebrates

The belowground community structure of soil biota depends on plant composition and may be affected by invasive plant species. We hypothesized that the type of land restoration method applied affects the abundance and composition of soil invertebrates. Our field experiment centred on Solidago species control using different seed mixtures and methods of seed introduction (sowing mixtures: grasses, grasses with legumes, seeds from a seminatural meadow, and application of fresh hay) and different frequencies of mowing (one, two, or three times per year). Soil invertebrates were identified to the taxa, using light microscopes. Richness and diversity indices were calculated, and a redundancy analysis was conducted. Generally, mowing intensity negatively influenced soil organisms, although increased mowing frequency positively affected the abundance of some taxa (Symphyla, Hemiptera). Mowing twice per year decreased the abundance of soil invertebrates, but not their diversity. Soil invertebrate taxa had the greatest abundance in the plots sown with a seed mixture containing grasses with legumes. Among the restoration methods studied, mowing once a year and introducing grasses with legumes represented the least harmful strategy with regard to soil invertebrate abundance. Further studies are needed to investigate the dynamics of soil mesofauna exposed to long-term mowing and changes in vegetation characteristics.

Can pasture‐fed livestock farming practices improve the ecological condition of grassland in Great Britain?

Abstract Livestock farming in Great Britain (GB) faces multiple pressures. Yet, grassland managed for livestock is the most extensive habitat in GB and is key to cultural landscapes and their biodiversity and soil health. This study analysed a nationally representative dataset of over 940 large (200 m2) Neutral (agriculturally semi‐improved) and (agriculturally) Improved Grassland plots from the GB Countryside Survey (CS) to assess relationships between key grassland sward and soil variables. Analysis also looked at how these variables changed over time as plots switched between these grassland types. Data from grassland plots managed by Pasture‐Fed Livestock Association (PFLA) farmers were compared to CS plot data to assess the impacts of their practices on these variables. Plant species richness in Neutral grassland types in CS plots was positively associated with total soil invertebrate abundance (total taxa) and soil N and C and negatively associated with soil P. There were negative relationships between the covers of Lolium sp. (Neutral only), legumes and forbs and soil C and moisture variables. Grassland swards on PFLA member farms were characteristic of Neutral grassland. PFLA plots were more species rich and contained more legume and forb species and lower proportions of Lolium perenne than those on Improved Grassland. Vegetation height was greater in PFLA plots than in CS plots of either Improved or Neutral Grassland. Unlike CS Neutral Grassland plots, soil properties in PFLA plots were not significantly different from those for Improved Grassland for any measured variable (soil carbon concentration [C], bulk density, pH, nitrogen [N], phosphorus [P]). Higher species richness in grasslands is associated with positive measures of soil health. PFLA plant communities contain relatively high species richness and tall vegetation, which is positive for biodiversity. Lack of positive measures of soil health associated with higher species richness recorded in PFLA grassland (as opposed to CS grassland) may reflect time lags in soil responses to management, as evidenced through an analysis of the impacts of land‐use change over time on CS plot characteristics. Our findings indicate that pasture‐fed livestock approaches may be beneficial for grassland and wider ecosystems.

Global meta‐analysis reveals incomplete recovery of soil conditions and invertebrate assemblages after ecological restoration in agricultural landscapes

Abstract Restoration of old fields in agricultural landscapes has become increasingly important for conservation of species and their habitats owing to habitat destruction and rapid environmental change. Studies examining the outcomes of old field restoration predominantly focus on plant, and sometimes, vertebrate communities. Fewer studies have systematically investigated the effects of restoration efforts on soil properties or ground‐dwelling invertebrates and there is limited synthesis of these data. We conducted a global meta‐analysis of published studies to assess the effects of old field restoration on soil properties and soil invertebrate abundance and richness. We anticipated increased vegetation cover would improve soil properties towards reference condition and in turn, this would promote invertebrate abundance and richness. Studies were included if field sites had a history of cropping or livestock grazing. We identified 42 studies (1994–2019) from 16 countries that met our criteria. More studies assessed passive restoration methods than active planting, and native species were more commonly planted than exotic species. Results showed that restoration improved soil conditions with respect to total nitrogen, magnesium, soil carbon, bulk density and porosity when compared to controls; however, conditions similar to those in reference ecosystems were generally not achieved, even 50+ years after restoration had been initiated. Moderator analyses showed few significant tends, however, bulk density improved with age, and in passively restored versus reference ecosystems. Outcomes for soil carbon and bulk density were most predominant in the top soil when compared to the degraded ecosystem. We detected no consistent trends for the effect of restoration on soil invertebrate richness and abundance compared to the control or reference ecosystems. Synthesis and applications. Our global meta‐analysis found strong evidence that old field restoration in agricultural landscapes had positive effects on soil condition but did not lead to full recovery when compared to a reference ecosystem. We detected few and idiosyncratic effects for invertebrates. Further research is needed to understand effects of restoration on soil invertebrate functional groups and to develop management interventions that accelerate the restoration of soil condition.

Soil invertebrate abundance, diversity, and community composition across steep high elevation snowmelt gradients in the European Alps

ABSTRACT We studied abundance, diversity, and composition of soil invertebrates along snowmelt gradients to generally understand how soil animal communities are responding to life conditions across snowbeds along a west–east transect of the European Alps and to create a reference inventory for future investigations of climate change effects on snowbed habitats. We extracted microarthropods (collembolans, oribatid mites) and macroinvertebrates (spiders, beetles, insect larvae) from soil cores taken from three sections along the snowmelt gradient: high (early snowmelt), middle, and low (late snowmelt) sections. Linear models showed no correlations between either soil conditions or time of snowmelt and densities of soil animals. A small, though statistically significant, variation in the generally high soil organic matter and sand contents and high porosity of snowbed soils seems to have no effect on soil invertebrates. Species found along the snowmelt gradient were in similar shares generalist and specialist species. Microarthropod community composition in general was driven by soil porosity and soil organic matter content; for macroinvertebrate community composition we found no specific driver. We conclude that invertebrate species assemblages in snowbeds are rather similar in the European Alps.

The abundance of soil invertebrates in young and mature palm oil plot in relations to soil physical properties: A preliminary study

The soil biota is considered the biological engine of the earth and is associated with most of the critical functions of the soil in terms of ecosystem services. The knowledge on the impact of land management and agricultural activities on the abundance and diversity of soil invertebrates is still understudied especially in Malaysia. This study was conducted to investigate the relation of the abundance and diversity of soil invertebrates with the soil physical parameters from two different palm oil plots. Sampling methods of soil invertebrates include pitfall trap and Burlese-Tullgren funnel. Invertebrate’s abundance and diversity were measured and invertebrates were identified according to their morphological characteristics under the dissecting microscope concerning taxonomic keys. A total of 621 individuals were documented from both sites with 408 collected in mature palm oil farms whereas 213 individuals were documented in young palm oil farms. Hymenoptera (67.31 %) is the most dominant invertebrate followed by Orthoptera (12.40 %) and Arachnida (10.14 %). Morphospecies diversity, evenness, and richness are highest in mature palm oil plot with Shannon; 1.54, Evenness; 0.32, and Menhinick; 0.67 respectively. Well-developed canopy, plenty of shelters, and reduced agricultural activities in mature palm oil mainly contributed to ideal soil physical parameters (bulk density; 1.23 (g/cm3) ± 0.02, porosity; 55.03 % ± 2.48, temperature; 35.65°C ± 0.30 and moisture; 34.05 % ± 0.60) produces a comparatively more balanced habitat for a diverse community of soil invertebrates. Because of the roles they play in soil biological processes, soil invertebrates may be used as bioindicators of soil health. This study can be used as a baseline for more extensive research that may be applied in future planning on land management in achieving the nation’s agricultural sustainability.

Citizen science involving farmers as a means to document temporal trends in farmland biodiversity and relate them to agricultural practices

Abstract Agricultural intensification is often recognized as a major driver of the decline of wild biodiversity in farmland. However, few studies have managed to collect relevant data to link the temporal dynamics of farmland biodiversity to the characteristics of intensive agriculture over large geographical areas. We used 7 years of data from a French citizen science programme, wherein 1,216 farmers monitored biodiversity in 2,382 fields encompassing field crops, meadows, vineyards or orchards, to examine the temporal trends in abundance of five taxonomic groups of invertebrates (solitary bees, earthworms, butterflies, beetles, molluscs) and their links with agronomic practices and surrounding landscape. We observed significant temporal trends in abundance for many taxonomic groups and in many crop types. Flying taxa (solitary bees and butterflies) were generally declining, while the trends of soil taxa were more variable. Most trends were significantly related to farming practices or landscape features. We observed a negative link between use of synthetic inputs (pesticides, mineral fertilization) and the trend in abundance of flying taxa in field crops, while in meadows organic or mineral fertilization was the main explanatory practice, with contrasting relationships across taxonomic groups. Besides, the trend in abundance of beetles and molluscs was more positive in permanent versus temporary meadows. Finally, in vineyards, the trend in abundance of solitary bees was positively related to the presence of woodland in the landscape, whereas the reverse was true in meadows. Synthesis and applications. Our results provide further support for the role of citizen science as a promising source of large‐scale spatial and temporal data in farmland, contributing to the identification of agronomic practices that can help mitigate biodiversity decline. Our analyses suggest that reducing chemical inputs may not only reduce the decline in bees and butterflies, but sometimes even promote their regrowth. Increasing organic fertilization may foster bee and beetle abundance in meadows but reduce mollusc abundance, while preventing ploughing of meadows may promote soil invertebrate abundance. Finally, such citizen science programmes engage farmers to undertake monitoring. Whether such group engagement may also contribute to biodiversity conservation by raising farmers’ awareness remains to be addressed.

Soil functions are affected by transition from conventional to organic mulch-based cropping system

Soil ecosystem services depend on soil properties and their interactions, which are mostly influenced by soil use and management. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate, through a multidisciplinary approach, the effect of different cropping systems on food provisioning, soil chemical features, size and structure of soil microbial community, soil invertebrate biodiversity and habitat provision (trophic interactions). The systems were: conventional integrated (INT); traditional organic with cover crops and conventional tillage (ORG); and organic coupled with conservation agriculture (cover crop mulching and no-tillage, ORG+). During 2016, we conducted soil and field samplings and collected data relative to the crop yield, C and N content in the agroecosystem, chemical and microbial soil properties and soil invertebrate abundance and trophic interactions. The INT system showed the highest crop yield (similar to ORG and three-fold higher than ORG+). Nevertheless, the INT system showed the greatest amount of N lost with drainage water (six-fold higher than the other systems), the lowest soil total PLFA abundance (around two-fold lower than ORG and ORG+ in the Ap1 horizon of soil). Additionally, INT system was characterized by the lowest invertebrate biodiversity (e.g., two-fold and ten-fold lower than ORG and ORG+ respectively for ground-dwelling predator abundance). By contrast, the ORG+ system had the lowest crop yield, but it showed the highest soil total organic C concentration and microbial biomass in the Ap1 horizon, supported higher invertebrate biodiversity and a slightly wider prey-spectrum for ground beetle predators. The ORG system had an intermediate behaviour between INT and ORG+. The results of this study demonstrate that, despite the reduction of crop yield, the conversion from INT to ORG or ORG+ possibly enhances important soil functions like nutrient cycling and storage, biodiversity and habitat provisioning. However, management optimization for improving crop yield would be required to make ORG+ a viable system.

Opening a can of worms: Can the availability of soil invertebrates be indicated by birds?

Abstract Recently detected invertebrate population declines are likely to have far-reaching impacts for ecosystem function. However, very little large-scale monitoring of invertebrates, especially soil invertebrates, has taken place. To address this gap, we established a school-based citizen science project to collect data on soil invertebrate abundance and bird counts across the UK. We examined the association between earthworms (which comprised 93% of the total soil invertebrate biomass in the surface soil) and 15 bird species on school playing fields over three years. We also tested whether simple bird counts of species that rely on earthworms could be used to indicate the earthworm abundance in soil. We found a clear link between earthworm abundance and counts of robins (Erithacus rubecula), blackbirds (Turdus merula) and other thrushes (Turdus pilaris, Turdus viscivorus, Turdus philomelos and Turdus iliacus), all of which rely on earthworms as an important component of their diet. None of these relationships varied with season. There were no correlations found between earthworm abundance and bird counts for species that do not rely on earthworms. We found that the total thrush count (including blackbirds) could be used as a simple indicator of earthworm abundance, explaining up to 20% of the variation in earthworm counts. In spite of the uncertainties associated with the data, these results raise the possibility that existing, robust, long-term bird monitoring data could, with further research, be used to infer changes in soil invertebrates, such as earthworms, and therefore aspects of soil health. We conclude by identifying a series of criteria that would need to be fulfilled in order for such inference to be robust.

Legacy effects of contrasting organic grain cropping systems on soil health indicators, soil invertebrates, weeds, and crop yield

Elucidating relationships between the soil food web, soil processes, and agroecosystem function is a critical step toward a more sustainable agriculture. Soil and crop management practices can alter these relationships, and their effects can persist even after imposing new management practices. In 2005, the Cornell Organic Grain Cropping Systems Experiment was established in central New York. Four cropping systems that varied in fertilizer inputs, tillage practices, and weed control were compared: High Fertility, Low Fertility, Enhanced Weed Management, Reduced Tillage. Two crop rotation entry points were included in the experiment. In June 2017, the entire experimental site (plots and alleyways) was plowed and seeded with sorghum sudangrass [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench x S. sudanense (Piper) Stapf] as part of a uniformity trial to assess legacy effects of past management practices. Prior to initiating the uniformity trial, soil samples were collected and analyzed for soil health indicators. Soil samples were also collected to assess soil invertebrate abundance and community structure 34 and 70 days after planting. Sorghum sudangrass and weed biomass were sampled at the end of the uniformity trial in September 2017. Legacy effects of past management that were observed during the uniformity trial were associated with differences in nutrient inputs and soil disturbance, as well as the preceding crop. The High Fertility system had greater soil phosphorus than the Low Fertility system, and in one of the two crop rotation entry points, soil aggregate stability and soil respiration were greater in the Reduced Tillage system compared to the Enhanced Weed Management system. The Enhanced Weed Management cropping system also had a soil invertebrate community characterized by more disturbance tolerant taxa. Weed biomass varied by crop rotation entry point, but not cropping system. Sorghum sudangrass biomass was greater in the Reduced Tillage system than the Low Fertility system, and the entry point that had greater weed biomass also had greater sorghum sudangrass biomass. Piecewise structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test relationships between response variables and showed that soil phosphorus, soil aggregate stability, and soil respiration explained variation in abundance of some invertebrates, and that aggregate stability, soil respiration, soil moisture, weed biomass, and a select group of invertebrates affected sorghum sudangrass biomass production. Overall our findings show that soil invertebrates can mediate the relationship between soil health indicators and crop productivity, and provide support for including direct measurements of soil invertebrates in soil health assessments.

Field effects studies in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone: Lessons to be learnt

In the initial aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl accident there were detrimental effects recorded on wildlife, including, mass mortality of pine trees close to the reactor, reduced pine seed production, reductions in soil invertebrate abundance and diversity and likely death of small mammals.More than 30 years after the Chernobyl accident there is no consensus on the longer-term impact of the chronic exposure to radiation on wildlife in what is now referred to as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Reconciling this lack of consensus is one of the main challenges for radioecology. With the inclusion of environmental protection in, for instance, the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), we need to be able to incorporate knowledge of the potential effects of radiation on wildlife within the regulatory process (e.g. as a basis on which to define benchmark dose rates).In this paper, we use examples of reported effects on different wildlife groups inhabiting the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) as a framework to discuss potential reasons for the lack of consensus, consider important factors influencing dose rates organisms receive and make some recommendations on good practice.

Reduced colonization by soil invertebrates to irradiated decomposing wood in Chernobyl

Soil is inhabited by a range of microbes, invertebrates and vertebrates that disintegrate and decompose dead wood and leaf litter. These communities can be perturbed by ionizing radiation from natural radiation sources or from radiation originating from nuclear accidents such as those at Chernobyl, Fukushima and Three Mile Island. We used experimental manipulations of wood quality due to differences in exposure to ionizing radiation among tree trunks and ambient radiation levels of the soil to test the hypothesis that radioactively contaminated wood would result in a negative correlation between the abundance of soil invertebrates colonizing slices of wood and level of radioactive contamination. We extracted soil invertebrates underneath decomposing wood using mustard powder diluted in water. The abundance of soil invertebrates extracted was highly repeatable at study sites and decreased with increasing ambient radiation and total dose measured with thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs). Four 10 cm thick slices of ca. 70-year old Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris) were deposited at 20 sites and the invertebrate taxa and their colonization and their abundance was assessed annually during 2014–2017. There were more soil invertebrates under uncontaminated than contaminated slices of wood. In addition, there were more soil invertebrates in areas with less ambient radioactivity, and there was an interaction effect between contamination of wood and ambient radiation implying that the role of contamination differed among slices. Finally, there was an increase in the abundance of soil invertebrates under wood slices during 2013–2017 implying that the abundance of soil invertebrates increased over time. These findings imply that the abundance of soil animals colonizing wood slices was dependent on background radiation, radioactive contamination of wood and the interaction between contamination of wood and ambient radiation.

Using data from schools to model variation in soil invertebrates across the UK: The importance of weather, climate, season and habitat

Soil invertebrates play important roles in nutrient cycling, the development of soil structure, food webs and even climate regulation. It is likely that climate change will have far-reaching impacts on soil invertebrates but a lack of information about how soil invertebrate populations vary with soil characteristics and climate make projections difficult. To address this gap, we present the results of a large-scale citizen science project that examined the abundance of soil macro-invertebrates across the UK.The abundance and biomass of twelve invertebrate groups were recorded by school children using standardised protocols on six occasions over two years. Using these data, we examined the relative impact of local habitat and soil characteristics, and weather and climate, upon these taxa.The abundance of many soil invertebrate groups varied with season and small-scale habitat factors. We found that the abundance and biomass of earthworms was strongly correlated with soil moisture. There was, however, little evidence that large-scale variation in soil invertebrate abundance could be explained by spatial variation in climate.Given the importance of earthworms for soil processes, periods of dry weather may reduce their ability to undertake nutrient cycling and the provision of other services such as food for invertivorous species. Future analyses of the impacts of climate change on soil invertebrates may usefully consider variables such as frequency of rain, rather than monthly or seasonal averages more widely used.Our results were generally in accord with patterns expected from previous literature, providing important quality assurance. This indicates that this could be an effective scheme for long-term monitoring of soil invertebrates and that it is possible to utilise educational establishments as a forum for large-scale environmental data collection. Not only can this deliver valuable environmental data, but also it can engage school children in the collection of scientifically valuable data.

Winter Climate Change Influences on Soil Faunal Distribution and Abundance: Implications for Decomposition in the Northern Forest

Winter is typically considered a dormant period in northern forests, but important ecological processes continue during this season in these ecosystems. At the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, we used an elevational climate gradient to investigate how changes in winter climate affect the litter and soil invertebrate community and related decomposition rates of Acer saccharum (Sugar Maple) litter over a 2-year period. The overall abundance and richness of litter invertebrates declined with increasing elevation, while the diversity and abundance of soil invertebrates was similar across the gradient. Snow depth and soil temperature were correlated to the abundance and distribution of the litter invertebrate community, whereas soil organic matter, soil moisture, and soil frost were correlated with the distribution and abundance of the soil invertebrate community. Decomposition rates were initially faster at lower-elevation sites following 1 year of decomposition, then stabilized at the end of 2 years with no difference between higher- and lower-elevation sites. This pattern may be explained by the distribution and abundance of the litter and soil invertebrates. Higher abundances of litter invertebrates, especially Collembola, at lower-elevation sites contribute to faster initial breakdown of litter, while greater abundances of Acari in soils at higher elevation contribute to the later stages of decay. The interaction between decomposition and the associated invertebrate community responded to changes in climatic conditions, with both soil temperature and soil moisture being important determinants.

Soil invertebrates in Australian rain gardens and their potential roles in storage and processing of nitrogen

Research on rain gardens generally focuses on hydrology, geochemistry, and vegetation. The role of soil invertebrates has largely been overlooked, despite their well-known impacts on soil nutrient storage, removal, and processing. Surveys of three rain gardens in Melbourne, Australia, revealed a soil invertebrate community structure that differed significantly among sites but was stable across sampling dates (July 2013 and April 2014). Megadrilacea (earthworms), Enchytraeidae (potworms), and Collembola (springtails) were abundant in all sites, and together accounted for a median of 80% of total soil invertebrate abundance. Earthworms were positively correlated to soil organic matter content, but the abundances of other taxonomic groups were not strongly related to organic matter content, plant cover, or root biomass across sites. While less than 5% of total soil N was estimated to be stored in the body tissues of these three taxa, and estimated N gas emissions from earthworms (N2O and N2) were low, ingestion and processing of soil was high (e.g., up to 417% of the upper 5cm of soil ingested by earthworms annually in one site), suggesting that the contribution of these organisms to N cycling in rain gardens may be substantial. Thus, invertebrate communities represent an overlooked feature of rain garden design that can play an important role in the structure and function of these systems.

Impact of Grassland Reseeding, Herbicide Spraying and Ploughing on Diversity and Abundance of Soil Arthropods.

In order to determine the interactive effect of reseeding, herbicide spraying and ploughing on soil fauna communities, we conducted a grassland reseeding experiment combined with pre-reseed management to examine how with the whole reseeding process affects soil faunal composition. Sampling occasions and exact treatments were as follows: (1) before chemical herbicide spray; (2) after spray but before ploughing; (3) after ploughing but before reseeding; and (4) after 1 year of recovery. Our results demonstrate that, Acari and Collembola were the two soil fauna taxa with the highest abundance and accounted for around 96% of the relative total abundance among the various managements. Herbicide application tended to increase soil invertebrate abundance. Conversely, subsequent ploughing significantly reduced soil invertebrate abundance and had an obvious negative effect on soil primary and secondary decomposers, which were mainly due to the variations of Acari (especially Oribatida) and Coleoptera group abundance. Moreover, reseeding also reduced the individual number of the groups mentioned above, and favored those predators with a larger body size and individual weight. After 1 year recovery, Collembola abundance recovered to the pre-treatment levels, while with Arthropod and Acari groups were still fluctuating.

Transcriptomics of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) resistance to Beet necrotic yellow vein virus

Recently detected invertebrate population declines are likely to have far-reaching impacts for ecosystem function. However, very little large-scale monitoring of invertebrates, especially soil invertebrates, has taken place. To address this gap, we established a school-based citizen science project to collect data on soil invertebrate abundance and bird counts across the UK. We examined the association between earthworms (which comprised 93% of the total soil invertebrate biomass in the surface soil) and 15 bird species on school playing fields over three years. We also tested whether simple bird counts of species that rely on earthworms could be used to indicate the earthworm abundance in soil.We found a clear link between earthworm abundance and counts of robins (Erithacus rubecula), blackbirds (Turdus merula) and other thrushes (Turdus pilaris, Turdus viscivorus, Turdus philomelos and Turdus iliacus), all of which rely on earthworms as an important component of their diet. None of these relationships varied with season. There were no correlations found between earthworm abundance and bird counts for species that do not rely on earthworms. We found that the total thrush count (including blackbirds) could be used as a simple indicator of earthworm abundance, explaining up to 20% of the variation in earthworm counts.In spite of the uncertainties associated with the data, these results raise the possibility that existing, robust, long-term bird monitoring data could, with further research, be used to infer changes in soil invertebrates, such as earthworms, and therefore aspects of soil health. We conclude by identifying a series of criteria that would need to be fulfilled in order for such inference to be robust.

Soil invertebrate diversity in coffee-pine agroforestry system at Sumedang, West Java

Kinasih I, Cahyanto T, Widiana A, Kurnia DNI, Julita C, Putra RE. 2016. Soil invertebrate diversity in coffee-pine agroforestry system at Sumedang, West Java. Biodiversitas 17: 473-478. In order to maintain natural habitat while provide economic benefit for community near forest, some agroforestry systems were developed. This system depends on service provided by ecosystem such as nutrient cycling by soil invertebrates. One of important factors of healthy ecosystem services at particular agroecosystem is local biodiversity of the area. In this study we carried out biodiversity survey of soil invertebrates at local coffee - pine agroforestry system at Rancakalong Sub-district, Sumedang District, West Java, Indonesia. Soil invertebrates were collected from coffee plantation, coffee and pine (Pinus merkusii) plantation and pine plantation by 40 pitfall trap per location. Results showed the highest abundance was recorded at coffee plantation (2477 individuals) and the lowest was at pine plantation (1372 individuals). All collected soil invertebrates grouped into 3 classes (Arachnida, Chilopoda and Insecta), 16 orders, 47 families, and 124 morphospecies. Soil invertebrates were dominated by Formicidae, Scarabaeidae, Blattidae, Forficulidae, and Phalangiidae. The average diversity index of soil invertebrates was 2.25 (coffee plantation), 2.64 (coffee and pine plantation) and 1.85 (pine plantation). The evenness value was 0.30 (coffee plantation), 0.49 (coffee and pine plantation) and 0.39 (pine plantation). This study showed agroforestry may improve soil invertebrate abundance and diversity of monoculture pine forest through creation of additional and alternative nutrition and microhabitats.