Soil and litter microarthropod populations from two contrasting ecosystems in semi-arid eastern Australia

Species richness and abundance patterns of microarthropods on cryptobiotic crusts in a piñon-juniper habitat: a call for greater knowledge

“…Finally, because the regional taxa are not very well known and published literature varies in the level of identification reported, our taxa may well be present in the adjacent biomes. Previous studies generally did not indicate whether crusts were included in their samples (but see Noble et al, 1996). Similarities between our Placitas site and any of the other studies used for comparison ranged from 10% to 20%.…”

The significance of termites as decomposers in contrasting grassland communities of semi-arid eastern Australia

“…Soil microarthropods, for example, are important 'litter transformers' in Australian rangelands. Their populations have been shown to vary considerably between different parts of these landscapes, the highest numbers of 'litter transformers' usually being found in grass-dominated patches (Noble et al, 1996).…”

Does distance from the sea affect a soil microarthropod community?

“…In contrast to the findings of Koehler et al (1995) and Salmane (2000), who studied microarthropods in coastal sand dunes, we hardly found any mesostigmatid mites in the present research, due to the differences between the climates in which these studies were conducted. Their studies were conducted in colder and wetter climates, while this study was conducted in a Mediterranean ecosystem, which is hotter and dryer and, therefore, more suitable for predatory mites from the Prostigmata, known to be the dominant predator group in xeric environments (Noble et al, 1996;Steinberger, 1990). This fact also explained the low microarthropod densities found in the current study compared with other studies conducted in various sand dunes (Koehler et al, 1995;Russell and Alberti, 2011;Salmane, 2000).…”

“…Soil samples were collected at five sites along a 4 km transect, from the sea inland, during a two-year period. The samples were collected from bare, open areas, in order to minimize the effect of different microhabitats, created by the different flora at each location, as many studies showed significant differences in soil microarthropod communities among diverse plant species and bare soil (Noble et al, 1996;Steinberger et al, 1990). We hypothesize that microarthropod-community size and diversity will be determined by its distance from the seashore.…”