Soil Arthropod Communities Research Articles

Effects of Land Cover Changes on Soil Arthropod Community in Horqin Sand Land, China

The composition and diversity of soil macroarthropod communities in six types of land cover were studied during 2008 and 2009 in Horqin Sand Land, Inner Mongolia, to understand effects of land cover changes on soil macro-arthropod. The results showed that species richness, diversity and population density of the soil arthropods were the highest in the natural grasslands, followed by the fixed sand-lands and the plantations. Although the richness, diversity and population density were lower in the dry and irrigated farmlands, they were significantly higher than those in the moving sand dunes. Anthicidae were numerically dominant in natural grasslands, fixed sand dunes, plantations and irrigated farmlands, while Tenebrionidae were most common in the dry farmlands. There were no significantly dominant species in the moving sand dunes. The proportion of herbivore and omnivores was higher in fixed sand dunes compared with moving sand dunes, and likewise, the proportions of predators and omnivores were higher in irrigated farmlands compared with dry farmlands. In addition, the proportion of predators and omnivores were lower in plantations compared with fixed sand dunes or natural grasslands. The abundance and diversity of soil arthropods was most closely correlated with soil temperature, soil organic matter and total P content. 

Species identity influences belowground arthropod assemblages via functional traits

Plant species influence belowground communities in a variety of ways, ultimately impacting nutrient cycling. Functional plant traits provide a means whereby species identity can influence belowground community interactions, but little work has examined whether species identity influences belowground community processes when correcting for evolutionary history. Specifically, we hypothesized that closely related species would exhibit (i) more similar leaf and root functional traits than more distantly related species, and (ii) more similar associated soil arthropod communities. We found that after correcting for evolutionary history, tree species identity influenced belowground arthropod communities through plant functional traits. These data suggest that plant species structure may be an important predictor in shaping associated soil arthropod communities and further suggest the importance of better understanding the extended consequences of evolutionary history on ecological processes, as similarity in traits may not always reflect similar ecology.

A Survey of Roadside Soil Arthropod Communities from Three Elevations in Mauritius

This study was carried out in Mauritius during summer from November 2012 to April 2013. The objectives of this study were to quantify the species richness and diversity, abundance and biomass of soil arthropod from roadside trees found at three different elevations in Mauritius. Soil arthropods were collected utilizing pitfall traps made of plastic cups at three different elevations (Flic en Flac, 5 m; Rose-Hill, 221 m; and Mare aux Vacoas, 569 m). Traps were placed among Casuarina equisetifolia (5 m), Dictyosperma album (221 m) and Pinus sylvestris (569 m) trees. A total of 18422 arthropods were sampled of which 10681 individuals were sampled at 5 m, 5216 individuals at 221 m and 2525 individuals at 569 m. The abundant soil arthropods were Hymenoptera (Formicidae) (54.0%) and Coleoptera (Nitidulidae) (32.7%). The alpha diversity of soil arthropods varied between elevations [(5 m, 0.907), (221 m, 0.727), (569 m, 1.54). Soil arthropod species evenness was highest at 221m (0.77) followed by 5 m (0.69) and lowest at 569 m (0.53). Formicidae was abundant at 221 m (91.4%) while Anisolabidae (38.6%) was abundant at 569 m. Significant difference in weight between elevation (p<0.05) and significant differences in weight and abundance with bait types (p<0.05) was observed. This study can be useful in determining soil arthropods and their plant host specificity as such data has implications for biological control as well as for collection of specific insects. Moreover, this study also has implications for town planners with respect to planting roadside trees and their ensuing edaphic communities for managing insect pests.

Changes in soil macrofaunal community composition under selective afforestation in shifting sand lands in Horqin of Inner Mongolia, northern China

AbstractLarge‐scale afforestation programs have had some beneficial effects on reducing severity of dust storms and controlling desertification in arid and semi‐arid regions. However, the influences of selective afforestation on soil arthropod community are largely unknown in desertified ecosystems. Soil macrofaunal communities, soil physico‐chemical properties, and herb vegetation were investigated in afforested shrublands and woodlands (both approximately 30 years old post‐afforestation), which were compared to shifting sand lands in Horqin, northern China. In the shrublands, environmental parameters (soil and vegetation properties) indicated a significant improvement of soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and herbaceous density and cover, in comparison to the woodlands and shifting sand lands. The improved shrubland habitat maintained significantly higher soil macrofaunal abundance and group richness together with higher diversity compared with the woodlands and shifting sand lands. There were no significant differences in soil macrofaunal diversity between the woodlands and shifting sand lands. The results suggest that shrubs can facilitate macrofaunal assemblies and improve soil and vegetation properties when planted in shifting sand lands. Shrub afforestation is beneficial for the restoration of shifting sand lands, and is recommended for management of artificial plantations in these sandy ecosystems.

Equivalence in the strength of deer herbivory on above and below ground communities

Herbivores exert a strong influence on the species composition and richness of plant communities, but the magnitude of their effect on belowground communities remains poorly understood. While an increasing number of studies acknowledge the importance of documenting belowground effects of herbivores, very few of these evaluate variation in the strength of the response from aboveground to belowground communities. Our study documents the long-term consequences of sustained deer herbivory for plant and arthropod communities adjacent to 15 exclosures that have been in place since 1996. We hypothesized that herbivory would alter the composition and diversity of communities, but the strength of the effects of herbivory would weaken from plants, to leaf-litter invertebrates, and to belowground microarthropod communities. First, we found that herbivory negatively impacted plant seedling and sapling abundance and performance, reduced the abundance of ants and the taxonomic richness of arthropods in the litter layer and reduced the richness of soil microarthropod communities. Second, in contrast to our hypothesis, the magnitude of effect size did not vary among trophic levels, indicating that effects of deer herbivory cascade from plants to the leaf-litter and soil arthropod communities with equal strength. While much recent research has focused on how specific traits of plants may mediate the effects of herbivory on associated species, our results suggest that indirect effects of herbivory might influence many components of belowground communities.

A soil fauna index for assessing soil quality

The characteristics of the faunal community in soil are closely related to soil quality. Using the soil faunal community as an indicator of soil quality is not cost-effective because of the complex taxonomic distinction and identification required, moreover; the power of the assessment is weak in relation to soil function. Recently, a functional method incorporating eco-morphological traits has been proposed, but it depends upon presence/absence data of soil arthropod community exclusively. To overcome the limitation, we designed a novel index using the diversity of the soil faunal community along with its functional traits, and the abundance of its members (Abundance-based Fauna Index, referred as FAI). The FAI method supports both the presence/absence data and its abundance. Using real and simulated data sets with eco-morphological and niche breadth traits, two taxonomic independent functional traits, we tested associations of FAI values with soil quality and found a good relationship. In addition to its usefulness for measuring soil quality, FAI may provide valuable information for linking functional traits of soil fauna and the belowground environmental condition.

Influence of Enviroment of Forest-Steppe Ecotone on Soil Arthropods Community in Northern Hebei,China

Abstract It was investigated on Soil arthropod communities in the forest-steppe ecotone in northern Hebei province to provide basic information on environment changes, which could promote the development of soil arthropod communities and be useful for the biodiversity conservation in the ecotone. From the preliminary identification, a total of 7994 individual soil arthropods were collected, which belonged to 25 groups, 6 classes and 24 orders. Acarina , Hymenoptera and Collembola were the dominant groups in the ecotone. The increased abundance of rare groups in the Forest zone with the richer vegetation, higher arthropod abundance and more substantial litter depth, could be interpreted as a reaction to the suitable soil environment and food supply. And these rare groups were sensitive to environmental changes, which could be regarded as biotic indicators for evaluating soil quality. The analysis of community diversity showed that every index was decreased from Forest zone to Forest-steppe zone and then to Meadow-steppe zone. These results indicated that the ecotone zone has abundant species, complicated community structrure and shows the typical characteristics of the ecotone.

Earthworms, ants and other arthropods as soil health indicators in traditional and no-fire agro-ecosystems from Eastern Brazilian Amazonia

Deforestation of the Amazonian rainforest and conversion to agriculture with the use of fire creates a mosaic of occupied lands and secondary forests. Considering the fundamental role of soil macrofauna and the lack of information about its resilience to deforestation, this study characterized the earthworms, ants and other soil arthropod communities in secondary forests of 40 and 20 years of age and in cropping system and pastures prepared with slash-and-burn or chop-and-mulch in the Brazilian Eastern Amazonia. Soil macrofauna was sampled according to the TSBF (Tropical Soil Biological and Fertility) methodology. Four sub-indices and one macrofauna soil health index were calculated using five principal component analyses. The macrofauna index identified better soil health in chop-andmulch crops, followed by the 40 yr-old forest and the chop-and-mulch pasture. These results confirmed the fundamental role of old secondary forests for soil biodiversity conservation and the potential of the chop-and-mulch technique to mitigate the effects of land use changes.

Community structure and seasonal variation of soil arthropods in the forest-steppe ecotone of the mountainous region in Northern Hebei, China

Soil fauna have been receiving more and more attention because they play an important role in nutrient cycling. However, there is a lack of information on soil arthropods in the forest-steppe ecotone in the mountainous region of northern Hebei, which makes it difficult to meet the need of protecting biodiversity in this area. Soil arthropod communities were investigated in the forest-steppe ecotone in northern Hebei province to provide basic information on changes in mountain soil fertility, which could promote the development of soil arthropod communities in mountain ecotones. From the preliminary identification, a total of 7994 individual soil arthropods were collected, which belonged to 25 groups, 6 classes and 24 orders. Acarina, Hymenoptera and Collembola were the dominant groups in the ecotone. The number of Acarina was higher than Collembola, and this phenomenon was obviously different from other areas in the same climate zone. The increased abundance of rare groups in the Forest zone with the richer vegetation, higher arthropod abundance and more substantial litter depth, could be interpreted as a reaction to the suitable soil environment and food supply. And these rare groups were sensitive to environmental changes, which could be regarded as biotic indicators for evaluating soil quality. The analysis of community diversity showed that the abundance index (d), the Shannon-Wiener index (H′), the evenness index (J) and the density-group index (DG) were significantly higher in the forest zone, lower in the forest-steppe zone, and lowest in the meadow-steppe zone. Seasonal variations in community composition correlated with changes in average air temperature and precipitation in this ecotone. Groups and individuals of soil arthropod communities in the three zones were present in greater numbers in the middle of the rainy season than in the early or late periods of the rainy season as a whole. At the same time, seasonal changes in soil arthropod communities from different plots were also influenced by habitat condition.

Effects of Fire History Upon Soil Macroarthropod Communities in Pinus Halepensis Stands in Attica, Greece

The composition of the soil macroarthropod community was studied in three forest stands which constitute a gradient of increased fire frequency. All stands were adjacent to each other, on the foothills of Mt. Penteli, Attica, Greece, and they shared similar physiography, climate, altitude, while their original pre-fire vegetation was a well-developedPinus halepensisforest. The stands were severely burned by a large fire early in summer 1995. Two of them had been burned previously: the first in 1978 and the second in 1978 and 1987. Sampling was carried out during the 2nd year after the last fire event. Although the phenology of soil macroarthropods was not altered in frequently burned stands, the number of taxa collected, as well as their population size, was extremely low. Canonical Correspondence Analysis showed that fire frequency does not directly affect soil arthropod communities, but influences them through increased abundance of specific plant groups, i.e., phrygana vegetation and legumes. Seasonality of climate seemed to be another significant factor controlling the structure of macroarthropod communities in the stands studied.

Landscape and management effects on structure and function of soil arthropod communities in winter wheat

This study evaluates the impact of agricultural management (organic vs. conventional) and landscape context on species richness and abundance of five soil arthropod taxa (ground beetles, spiders, springtails, millipedes, woodlice) and associated ecosystem functions (soil biological activity, weed seed predation, litter decomposition). A significant interaction between management type and landscape context was revealed in several cases. Activity density of millipedes and wood lice and species richness of ground beetles were higher in fields where local and regional management types were complementary, indicating a beneficial effect of environmental heterogeneity. In addition, seed predation on arable weeds was higher in organically than conventionally managed fields. It is concluded that the effect of agricultural management on soil arthropod biodiversity and functioning is often context dependent. The diversity of functionally important taxa such as ground beetles and decomposers may be enhanced by increasing environmental heterogeneity, a measure that is also beneficial for other components of agrobiodiversity. Thus, in a conventional agricultural context even managing only a fraction of fields organically may help to increase environmental heterogeneity and thereby promote soil arthropod diversity and the associated ecosystem functions.

Nested variation of soil arthropod communities in isolated patches of vegetation on a rocky outcrop

The combined effects of isolation within an unfavourable matrix and vegetation development were studied in patches of scrub vegetation on a tropical inselberg (Nouragues, French Guiana). Three thickets ∼10 m 2 area were sampled, located at ∼30 m distance from each other, in which the same vegetation types were present at less than 3 m distance: canopies of Clusia minor (Clusiaceae) and Myrcia saxatilis (Myrtaceae), two stages of thicket development, and zones of destruction by fire. The shallow organic soil was sampled over ∼2 dm 2 and down to 10 cm. The matrix was comprised of granite without any soil development. Arthropods were classified into morphospecies and their food diets were characterized by optical methods. The effect of isolation (between-thicket variation) on morphospecies composition was negligible, while that of vegetation type and fire (within-thicket variation) was prominent, as ascertained by principal component analysis and tested by partial redundance analysis. The importance of keystone structures (stages of vegetation development) was stressed, and interpreted to the light of taxonomic and foodweb knowledge.

Species richness, equitability, and abundance of ants in disturbed landscapes

Abstract Ants are used as indicators of environmental change in disturbed landscapes, often without adequate understanding of their response to disturbance. Ant communities in the southeastern United States displayed a hump-backed species richness curve against an index of landscape disturbance. Forty sites at Fort Benning, in west-central Georgia, covered a spectrum of habitat disturbance (military training and fire) in upland forest. Sites disturbed by military training had fewer trees, less canopy cover, more bare ground, and warmer, more compact soils with shallower A-horizons. We sampled ground-dwelling ants with pitfall traps, and measured 15 habitat variables related to vegetation and soil. Ant species richness was greatest with a relative disturbance of 43%, but equitability was greatest with no disturbance. Ant abundance was greatest with a relative disturbance of 85%. High species richness at intermediate disturbance was associated with greater within-site spatial heterogeneity. Species richness was also associated with intermediate values of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), a correlate of net primary productivity (NPP). Available NPP (the product of NDVI and the fraction of days that soil temperature exceeded 25 °C), however, was positively correlated with species richness, though not with ant abundance. Species richness was unrelated to soil texture, total ground cover, and fire frequency. Ant species richness and equitability are potential state indicators of the soil arthropod community. Moreover, equitability can be used to monitor ecosystem change.

Climate change effects on soil arthropod communities from the Falkland Islands and the Maritime Antarctic

Over a 2-year study, we investigated the effect of environmental change on the diversity and abundance of soil arthropod communities (Acari and Collembola) in the Maritime Antarctic and the Falkland Islands. Open Top Chambers (OTCs), as used extensively in the framework of the northern boreal International Tundra Experiment (ITEX), were used to increase the temperature in contrasting communities on three islands along a latitudinal temperature gradient, ranging from the Falkland Islands (51°S, mean annual temperature 7.5 °C) to Signy Island (60°S, −2.3 °C) and Anchorage Island (67°S, −3.8 °C). At each island an open and a closed plant community were studied: lichen vs. moss at the Antarctic sites, and grass vs. dwarf shrub at the Falkland Islands. The OTCs raised the soil surface temperature during most months of the year. During the summer the level of warming achieved was 1.7 °C at the Falkland Islands, 0.7 °C at Signy Island, and 1.1 °C at Anchorage Island. The native arthropod community diversity decreased with increasing latitude. In contrast with this pattern, Collembola abundance in the closed vegetation (dwarf shrub or moss) communities increased by at least an order of magnitude from the Falkland Islands (9.0 ± 2 × 10 3 ind. m −2) to Signy (3.3 ± 8.0 × 10 4 ind. m −2) and Anchorage Island (3.1 ± 0.82 × 10 5 ind. m −2). The abundance of Acari did not show a latitudinal trend. Abundance and diversity of Acari and Collembola were unaffected by the warming treatment on the Falkland Islands and Anchorage Island. However, after two seasons of experimental warming, the total abundance of Collembola decreased ( p < 0.05) in the lichen community on Signy Island as a result of the population decline of the isotomid Cryptopygus antarcticus. In the same lichen community there was also a decline ( p < 0.05) of the mesostigmatid predatory mite Gamasellus racovitzai, and a significant increase in the total number of Prostigmata. Overall, our data suggest that the consequences of an experimental temperature increase of 1–2 °C, comparable to the magnitude currently seen through recent climate change in the Antarctic Peninsula region, on soil arthropod communities in this region may not be similar for each location but is most likely to be small and initially slow to develop.

Diversity and Distribution of Soil Arthropod Communities in Relation to Altitude and Edaphic Factors of Different Altitudinal Environments of Darjeeling Himalayas, India

Diversity and Distribution of Soil Arthropod Communities in Relation to Altitude and Edaphic Factors of Different Altitudinal Environments of Darjeeling Himalayas, India

Efeito de herbicidas sobre a comunidade de artrópodes do solo do feijoeiro cultivado em sistema de plantio direto e convencional

Neste trabalho, objetivou-se avaliar os efeitos da mistura dos herbicidas fomesafen + fluazifop sobre a comunidade de artrópodes do solo cultivado com feijão nos sistemas plantio direto e convencional. O experimento foi realizado em Argissolo Vermelho-Amarelo distrófico de boa fertilidade, em Coimbra, MG. Duas semanas após o plantio foi aplicada a mistura comercial dos herbicidas fluazifop + fomesafen, denominada Robust®, na dose de 0,8 L ha-1; em cada sistema de cultivo foi mantida uma testemunha sem aplicação de herbicida. O delineamento experimental foi o de blocos casualizados, com cinco repetições. As populações de artrópodes do solo foram amostradas aos 1, 8, 21 e 42 dias após a aplicação do herbicida. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de variáveis canônicas (CVA), que é uma técnica de ordenação indireta que reduz a dimensionalidade do conjunto dos dados originais em um conjunto de variáveis que podem ser usadas para ilustrar graficamente as posições relativas e as orientações das médias das respostas da comunidade em cada tratamento sob comparação. As diferenças entre os tratamentos na abundância dos artrópodes selecionados foram determinadas pela análise de variância por medida repetida, considerando a data de amostragem como a medida repetida. A análise das variáveis canônicas CVA para os sistemas de plantio e aplicação de herbicida indicou diferenças na densidade de artrópodes coletados nos diferentes tratamentos estudados, considerando a composição e a abundância das espécies. Foram observadas, por meio do diagrama de ordenação, diferenças no conjunto de artrópodes do solo coletados nos dois sistemas de plantio. A aplicação dos herbicidas afetou a densidade dos artrópodes associados ao feijoeiro em ambos os sistemas de cultivo, com exceção do Solenopsis sp. O sistema de plantio afetou a densidade de todas as espécies estudadas.

Characteristics of litter and soil arthropod communities at different suc-cessional stages of tropical forests

Characteristics of litter and soil arthropod communities at different suc-cessional stages of tropical forests

Response of grassland soil arthropod community to biological and conventional control of a native moth: using Beauveria bassiana and lambda-cyhalothrin for Dalaca pallens (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae) suppression

Conventional and biological control of a native moth, Dalaca pallens (Blanchard) (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae), were evaluated in Southern Chile in relation to changes on community metrics (diversity, species richness, evenness and dominance) of a soil-dwelling invertebrate assemblage. Two experiments were conducted (in winter and spring) to compare non-target effects of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin and lambda-cyhalothrin insecticide. The invertebrate community was sampled before and after spraying by extracting soil cores. Estimates of diversity (Shannon index), species richness, evenness (Hurlbert’s Probability of Interspecific Encounter) and dominance indicated that the invertebrate assemblage was strongly disturbed by lambda-cyhalothrin treatment but not by B. bassiana applied in winter, over the sampling period (40 days). Spring results revealed that diversity and evenness at control and at B. bassiana plots were similar between them and higher than at lambda-cyhalothrin plots, while there were no differences between sites 30 days after treatment in species richness. Inundative biological control using B. bassiana strain QU-B931 was considered to pose lower ecological risk than lambda-cyhalothrin, currently one of the most frequently used insecticides for D. pallens control.

Energetic equivalence in a soil arthropod community from an aspen–conifer forest

Summary We evaluated the energetic equivalence rule for a community of litter and soil arthropods from an aspen–conifer forest in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of southwestern North America. We found that across taxa and within trophic groups the number of arthropods per square meter, N , scaled with body mass, M , raised to the −0.78 power and that primary and secondary decomposers, combined, were 8.51 times more abundant than carnivores. Given that arthropod abundance scaled as M −0.78 and that soil invertebrate metabolic rates, Q , scale approximately as M 0.78 , it appears that within coarse trophic groups at our study site, energy use by soil arthropod populations, Q tot ∝ NQ , is approximately independent of body size, Q tot ∝ M −0.78 M 0.78 ∝ M 0 .

Importancia de las lagunas temporales para la conservación de la biodiversidad de artrópodos edáficos en zonas agrícolas de Castilla-la Mancha

The aim of this work is the comparative study of the soil arthropod communities in two transient lagoons from Castilla-La Mancha, by the use of pit-fall type traps. In the study areas sites with different environmental characteristics were identified. Analysis of frequency, abundance and richness and multivariate analyses were performed to detect preferences for particular habitats among the groups found. The results show that the transient lagoons favour the conservation and biodiversity of certain groups of edaphic arthropods.