Crop species and year affect soil-dwelling Collembola and Acari more strongly than fertilisation regime in an arable field

Gergócs, Veronika; Flórián, Norbert; Tóth, Zsolt; Szili‐Kovács, Tibor; Mucsi, Márton; Dombos, Miklós

doi:10.1016/j.apsoil.2022.104390

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 53 publications

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“…These organisms rely on soil pore space and food resources such as litter and microorganisms for survival [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. Acari and Collembola constitute a significant portion of decomposer communities, with their dominant species being particularly sensitive to environmental changes [ 36 , 37 , 38 ]. Larger ecosystem engineers, like earthworms, affect Acari and Collembola differently by altering soil structure and food resources, thereby changing community composition and relative abundance [ 32 , 39 , 40 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Millipedes on Acari and Collembola Communities—A Microcosm Experiment

Chang,

Zhang,

et al. 2024

Insects

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Ecosystem engineers influence the structure and function of soil food webs through non-trophic interactions. The activity of large soil animals, such as earthworms, has a significant impact on the soil microarthropod community. However, the influence of millipedes on soil microarthropod communities remains largely unknown. In this microcosm experiment, we examined the effects of adding, removing, and restricting millipede activity on Acari and Collembola communities in litter and soil by conducting two destructive sampling sessions on days 10 and 30, respectively. At the time of the first sampling event (10 d), Acari and Collembola abundance was shown to increase and the alpha diversity went higher in the treatments with millipedes. At the time of the second sampling event (30 d), millipedes significantly reduced the Collembola abundance and alpha diversity. The results were even more pronounced as the millipedes moved through the soil, which caused the collembolans to be more inclined to inhabit the litter, which in turn resulted in the increase in the abundance and diversity of Acari in the soil. The rapid growth of Collembola in the absence of millipedes significantly inhibited the abundance of Acari. The presence of millipedes altered the community structure of Acari and Collembola, leading to a stronger correlation between the two communities. Changes in these communities were driven by the dominant taxa of Acari and Collembola. These findings suggest that millipedes, as key ecosystem engineers, have varying impacts on different soil microarthropods. This study enhances our understanding of biological interactions and offers a theoretical foundation for soil biodiversity conservation.

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