Community Ecology of Soil Fauna Under Periodically Flooded Forest and Anthropic Fields

Context The Caatinga biome, located in the Brazilian semiarid region, has few remnants of riparian forest. Thus, it is essential to know the effectiveness of strategies aimed at forest recovery. Aims The objective of this study was to investigate the use of the epigeal fauna as a bioindicator tool of soil quality and ecosystem sustainability to determine the best native forest restoration strategy in the Caatinga in Belém do São Francisco, Pernambuco, Brazil. Methods In areas previously dominated by Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC., three treatments were installed: conventional planting of native species (P), planting of native species in islands (applied nucleation, N), and natural regeneration (NR). These restoration treatments were compared with an area of high P. juliflora dominance (PJ). Epigeal fauna were captured in two periods of the year (wet and dry seasons) using pitfall traps in a completely randomised design. We estimated the total abundance, richness, diversity, and evenness, as well as the trophic guilds of the epigeal fauna. Key results The epigeal fauna organisms were distributed in 22 taxonomic groups. The Saprophagous Diplopoda group was exclusive to PJ. The Predator Pseudocorpionida group was not observed in the NR area in any period. Cluster analysis revealed more dissimilarity of the NR with the other areas. Conclusions In the short term (less than 2 years), P increased the diversity and richness of the epigeal fauna and promoted better structuring of the Microphagous/Saprophagous (Entomobryomorpha, Poduromorpha, and Symphypleona) trophic guild, while NR promoted better structuring of the Herbivorous (Auchenorryhncha and Heteroptera) and Saprophagous/Predator (Formicidae and Coleoptera) trophic guilds. Implications In the short term, conventional planting benefited the epigeal fauna due to the high diversity of planted species.

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Structuring of the epigeal fauna in restoration of Brazilian semiarid forest in the short term

Gomes¹,

Cabreira

Lima

et al. 2022

Soil Res.

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Diversity Loss of Epigeic Collembola after Grassland Conversion into Eucalyptus Forestry in Brazilian Pampa Domain

et al. 2022

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The Brazilian Pampa is a rich domain mainly represented by grasslands. Conversion of native vegetation into Eucalyptus plantation leads to soil degradation and losses on local fauna and flora. The objectives of this study were to compare the taxonomic structure and abundance of epigeic springtails (Collembola) in two different types of land-use in the Brazilian Pampa, native grassland and Eucalyptus plantation, as well as to understand the processes that may cause species loss after grassland afforestation. Specimens were sampled in 10 paired plots of grasslands and Eucalyptus in southern Brazil. After sampling, all specimens were sorted, counted and identified. We evaluated the taxonomic composition, alpha and beta diversity, and used Random Forest Analysis to understand the influence of environmental factors on the structure and composition of Collembola communities. We sampled 1249 specimens in 26 morphospecies, and our data support there are significant losses in native Collembola communities after the conversion of grasslands into Eucalyptus plantations regarding abundance, species composition, richness, and alpha diversity. Species turnover better explained the beta diversity, and plant richness and dominance were the main environmental factors driving the Collembola diversity. These results deepen the knowledge of the impacts of native grassland conversion on soil fauna.

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Mixed Forest of Larix principis-rupprechtii and Betula platyphylla Modulating Soil Fauna Diversity and Improving Faunal Effect on Litter Decomposition

Zhang

Han

Huang

et al. 2022

Forests

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This research performed a comparison study to investigate how mixed forest affects the abundance, groups, and diversity of soil fauna and the effects of soil fauna on litter decomposition. We comparatively studied two forests, Larix principis-rupprechtii forest (LF) and mixed Larix principis-rupprechtii and Betula platyphylla forest (MF), which hold 30 years of stand age and are the representative forests in the mountainous area of northwestern Hebei, China. The field experiments were conducted from May to November 2020, with soil fauna and litter samples taken every one and a half months. A total of 540 soil samples (replicated samples, 3) were collected in each forest and the soil faunas were extracted from the samples by Tullgren methods in laboratory. Litter samples were incubated separately in the sampled forests using litterbags with two mesh sizes (0.01 and 4 mm) to observe the decomposition rate. In total, 2958 (inds.) soil faunas belonging to 4 phyla, 11 classes, and 20 orders, were found, with Acarina (1079/2958; 36.48%) and Collembola (1080/2958; 36.51%) being the dominant groups. The total abundance of soil fauna in the MF (1581 inds.) was higher than that in the LF (1377 inds.), and the significantly more abundant predatory functional group in the MF (p < 0.05) may indicate a more complex soil fauna food web structure. Comparatively, the higher Shannon–Wiener index (1.42–1.74) and Pielou evenness index (0.58–0.71) and the lower Simpson dominance index (0.22–0.32) in the MF suggested that the MF promoted the soil fauna diversity. The cumulative litter decomposition rate of litterbags with 4 mm aperture in the MF (54.52% in 300 days) was higher than that in the LF (32.81% in 300 days). Moreover, the litter decomposition rate was positively correlated with the total abundance and the number of groups, and was negatively with the Simpson dominance index, implying that the soil fauna activity effectively improved litter decomposition in the MF. Via the comparison, we found that the mixture of plant species in the forest can modulate the soil fauna diversity and accelerate the litter decomposition. The results in this study may provide an interesting reference for forest restoration and sustainable management.

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Community Ecology of Soil Fauna Under Periodically Flooded Forest and Anthropic Fields

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

Structuring of the epigeal fauna in restoration of Brazilian semiarid forest in the short term

Structuring of the epigeal fauna in restoration of Brazilian semiarid forest in the short term

Diversity Loss of Epigeic Collembola after Grassland Conversion into Eucalyptus Forestry in Brazilian Pampa Domain

Mixed Forest of Larix principis-rupprechtii and Betula platyphylla Modulating Soil Fauna Diversity and Improving Faunal Effect on Litter Decomposition

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