Differential contribution of soil biota groups to plant litter decomposition as mediated by soil use

Abstract

Plant decomposition is dependant on the activity of the soil biota and its interactions with climate, soil properties, and plant residue inputs. This work assessed the roles of different groups of the soil biota on litter decomposition, and the way they are modulated by soil use. Litterbags of different mesh sizes for the selective exclusion of soil fauna by size (macro, meso, and microfauna) were filled with standardized dried leaves and placed on the same soil under different use intensities: naturalized grasslands, recent agriculture, and intensive agriculture fields. During five months, litterbags of each mesh size were collected once a month per system with five replicates. The remaining mass was measured and decomposition rates calculated. Differences were found for the different biota groups, and they were dependant on soil use. Within systems, the results show that in the naturalized grasslands, the macrofauna had the highest contribution to decomposition. In the recent agricultural system it was the combined activity of the macro- and mesofauna, and in the intensive agricultural use it was the mesofauna activity. These results underscore the relative importance and activity of the different groups of the edaphic biota and the effects of different soil uses on soil biota activity.

Roles of soil biota and biodiversity in soil environment – A concise communication

“…The 21 st Century technologies related to DNA sequences revealed that some members of soil biota have no direct or weak relationship with providing functional services to soil medium (Riesenfeld et al, 2004;Bardgett, 2005;Barrios, 2007). This effort helps soil biologists to expand their understanding into many aspects of soil biota, and also to determine how these organisms behave very well in soil environment (Coleman, 2008;Ritz et al, 2010;Castro-Huerta et al, 2015). Taxonomic soil biota provides a linkage to identify some species of soil organisms that are only presence in soil without much support to soil quality and soil management (Riesenfeld et al, 2004).…”

Surface soil factors and soil characteristics in geo-physical milieu of Kebbi State Nigeria

“…Remarkably, these organisms play important role in the breakdown and decomposition of many organic materials in soil (Ritz et al, 2010). They contribute widely in the improvement and transformation of soil quality, soil organic matter and soil nutrients availability (Brussaardet al, 2007;Li et al, 2014;Castro-Huerta et al, 2015).Typical examples of biota and their biodiversity are depicted in Figure 9. Table 3 gives the major surface characteristics in the study region.…”

Soil Microarthropods and Soil Health: Intersection of Decomposition and Pest Suppression in Agroecosystems

“…Protura, Diplura, and Pauropoda are usually less abundant or infrequently detected. Even so, their activities contribute to functions of the microarthropod community with the relative contribution of biotic groups to decomposition changing with disturbance intensity and other environmental factors [15].…”