Evaluation of mesofauna communities as soil quality indicators in a national-level monitoring programme

George, Paul B. L.; Keith, Aidan M.; Creer, Simon; Barrett, Gaynor; Lebron, Inma; Emmett, Bridget A.; Robinson, David A.; Jones, Davey L.

doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2017.09.022

Cited by 78 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(42 reference statements)

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“…In our study, the estimated abundance of the different groups of soil litter mesofauna is comparable to what has been observed in other forests with similar (e.g., France [18]) and different climatic conditions (e.g., Wales [54] and Sweden [55]). In all of these forest systems, there was a much higher abundance of detritivores Acari and Collembola than of predators.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Fine Scale Determinants of Soil Litter Fauna on a Mediterranean Mixed Oak Forest Invaded by the Exotic Soil-Borne Pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi

Jiménez-Chacón

Homet

Matías

et al. 2018

Forests

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There is growing recognition of the importance of soil fauna for modulating nutrient cycling processes such as litter decomposition. However, little is known about the drivers promoting changes in soil fauna abundance on a local scale. We explored this gap of knowledge in a mixed oak forest of Southern Spain, which is under decline due to the invasion of the exotic soil-borne pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi. Meso-invertebrate abundance found in soil litter was estimated at the suborder level. We then explored their statistical correlations with respect to light availability, tree and litter characteristics, and P. cinnamomi abundance. Oribatida and Entomobryomporpha were the most abundant groups of Acari and Collembola, respectively. According to their trophic level, predator and detritivore abundances were positively correlated while detritivores were, in turn, positively correlated with pathogen abundance and negatively influenced by light availability and tree defoliation. These overall trends differed between groups. Among detritivores, Diplopoda preferred highly decomposed litter while Oribatida and Psocoptera preferred darker environments and Poduromorpha were selected for environments with lower tree defoliation. Our results show the predominant role of light availability in influencing litter fauna abundances at local scales and suggest that the invasive soil-borne pathogen P. cinnamomi is integrated in these complex relationships.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Fine Scale Determinants of Soil Litter Fauna on a Mediterranean Mixed Oak Forest Invaded by the Exotic Soil-Borne Pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi

Jiménez-Chacón

Homet

Matías

et al. 2018

Forests

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“…Different functions can also respond differently to the soil properties considered here and even soil biodiversity can be represented by different aspects with different responses. For example, in our sites microbial diversity is highest in our habitats with high pH and low carbon (George et al, 2019), whereas mesofaunal abundance is highest in habitats with more intermediate pH and carbon (George et al, 2017). However, some properties, such as soil carbon, have been widely accepted to be indicators of soil function, influencing greenhouse gas emission, nutrient cycling, water filtration and biomass production, among others (Amundson et al, 2015;Bünemann et al, 2018;Environment Audit Committee, 2016;Rossiter & Bouma, 2018).…”

Section: Soil Classificationmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Bulk density, together with clay content, has been proposed as a soil quality indicator for British soils in relation to trends over time, rather than passing a pre-identified threshold (Corstanje et al, 2017). We have limited sites at the higher levels of bulk density, which makes it difficult to evaluate the threshold value, and overall there was little correlation between bulk density and soil biological indicators such as total mesofauna (George et al, 2017). Bulk density within our data strongly correlated with soil carbon, which may suggest that in these types of soil systems bulk density and carbon represent the same aspects of soil health.…”

Section: Key Soil Parameters Status and Correlationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil health cluster analysis based on national monitoring of soil indicators

Seaton

Barrett

Burden

et al. 2020

European J Soil Science

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A major challenge in soil science is to monitor and understand the state and change of soils at a national scale to inform decision making and policy. To address this, there is a need to identify key parameters for soil health and function and determine how they relate to other parameters, including traditional soil surveys. Here we present a national-scale dataset of topsoil sampled as part of a wider agri-environment monitoring scheme in Wales, UK. Over 1,350 topsoils (0-15 cm) were sampled across a very wide range of habitats and a range of physical, chemical and biological soil quality indicators were measured. We Highlights • We measured soil physicochemical properties in~1,350 sites in a variety of temperate habitats

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“…Some authors proposed indices based on high taxonomic level (order, family, and in some cases class), or based on more systematic taxa [10], applying several ecological indexes [165]. Cortet et al [166] compared two crop systems which differed for tillage and pesticides application, and applied AV biodiversity index, considering microarthropod taxa separated in oribatid mites, other mites, collembolas, and other arthropods.…”

Section: Indices Of Soil Quality Based On Soil Arthropodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Health and Arthropods: From Complex System to Worthwhile Investigation

Menta

Remelli

2020

Insects

130

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The dramatic increase in soil degradation in the last few decades has led to the need to identify methods to define not only soil quality but also, in a holistic approach, soil health. In the past twenty years, indices based on living communities have been proposed alongside the already proven physical-chemical methods. Among them, some soil invertebrates have been included in monitoring programs as bioindicators of soil quality. Being an important portion of soil fauna, soil arthropods are involved in many soil processes such as organic matter decomposition and translocation, nutrient cycling, microflora activity regulation and bioturbation. Many studies have reported the use of soil arthropods to define soil quality; among taxa, some have been explored more in depth, typically Acari and Collembola, while generally less abundant groups, such as Palpigradi or Embioptera, have not been investigated much. This paper aims to evaluate and compare the use of different soil microarthropod taxa in soil degradation/quality studies to highlight which groups are the most reported for soil monitoring and which are the most sensitive to soil degradation. We have decided not to include the two most present and abundant taxa, Acari and Collembola, in this paper in consideration of the vast amount of existing literature and focus the discussion on the other microarthropod groups. We reported some studies for each taxon highlighting the use of the group as soil quality indicator. A brief section reporting some indices based on soil microarthropods is proposed at the end of this specific discussion. This paper can be considered as a reference point in the use of soil arthropods to estimate soil quality and health.

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Evaluation of mesofauna communities as soil quality indicators in a national-level monitoring programme

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Cited by 78 publications

References 39 publications

Fine Scale Determinants of Soil Litter Fauna on a Mediterranean Mixed Oak Forest Invaded by the Exotic Soil-Borne Pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi

Fine Scale Determinants of Soil Litter Fauna on a Mediterranean Mixed Oak Forest Invaded by the Exotic Soil-Borne Pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi

Soil health cluster analysis based on national monitoring of soil indicators

Soil Health and Arthropods: From Complex System to Worthwhile Investigation

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