Soil biodiversity and environmental change in European forests

Abstract

Biodiversity not only responds to environmental change, but has been shown to be one of the key drivers of ecosystem function and service delivery. Forest soil biodiversity is also governed by these principles, the structure of soil biological communities is clearly determined by spatial, temporal and hierarchical factors. Global environmental change, together with land-use change and forest ecosystem management, impacts the aboveground structure and composition of European forests. Due to the close link between the above-and belowground parts of forest ecosystems, we know that soil biodiversity is also impacted. However, very little is known about the nature of these impacts; effects they have on the overall level of biodiversity, the functions it fulfills, and on the future stability of forests and forest soils. Even though much remains to be learned about the relationships between soil biodiversity and forest ecosystem functionality, it is clear that better effort needs to be made to preserve existing soil biodiversity and forest conservation strategies taking soils into account must be considered.

Soil Macroinvertebrate Distribution Along a Subalpine Land Use Transect

“…Extensive (ie low-input) management, as practiced in the dry pastures of the Val Mazia/Matschertal LTSER area, supports the development of a distinct and specialized community (Steinwandter et al 2019), as has been shown in a recent multi-taxon study including above-and belowground taxa (Hilpold, Seeber, et al 2018). Even though we could not confirm this for the soil macroinvertebrate community, since the dry pastures showed the lowest abundances and the fewest species compared to the other 3 land use types, this recommendation still holds, since aboveand belowground biodiversity are closely connected and affect each other (Bardgett and van der Putten 2014;Lukac 2017). We assume that the low numbers are connected primarily to abiotic (ie shallow, hot, and dry soils) and not to land use parameters.…”

The effect of information transfer related to soil biodiversity on Flemish citizens' preferences for forest management

“…Crucial to healthy soils is their biological component, represented by the wide range of organisms present in soils (Bardgett and Van Der Putten, 2014). This soil biodiversity highly contributes to the delivery of forest ecosystem services through the ecosystem functions that they fulfil in a complex soil food web (Bardgett and Van Der Putten, 2014;Lukac, 2017;Mori et al, 2017). Despite their crucial role, soil biodiversity and soil biological functioning are currently under pressure, especially in agricultural areas (Orgiazzi et al, 2016).…”

“…Despite their crucial role, soil biodiversity and soil biological functioning are currently under pressure, especially in agricultural areas (Orgiazzi et al, 2016). While forest soil biodiversity experiences mostly moderate risks, maintaining and optimizing its current level is crucial, as forests take up circa 40% the European Union's land area and are believed to play an essential role in climate change mitigation and future delivery of a wide range of ecosystem services (Eurostat, 2019;Gardi et al, 2013;Lukac, 2017). Orgiazzi et al (2016) categorized the origin of pressures on soil biodiversity in Europe into 13 categories, the majority of which are directly (e.g.…”

“…As a result, an essential step to stop soil degradation is to create a culture amongst professionals and citizens that acknowledges and understands the essential role of soils and their biodiversity (Salhi et al, 2020). Of particular interest are management practices, as they have the potential to damage or support soil biodiversity, depending on the management decisions taken (Lukac, 2017). Generally, intensive management practices have been found to negatively impact soil biodiversity (Tibbett et al, 2020).…”

The Role of Edaphic and Vegetation Factors in Structuring Beta Diversity of the Soil Macrofauna Community of the Dnipro River Arena Terrace

“…Soil biota is highly diverse, representing 23% of the described organism diversity (Decaëns et al, 2006). Forest soil biodiversity responds to environmental changes and has been shown to be one of the key drivers of ecosystem function and service delivery (Lukac et al, 2017). An important component of soil biota is represented by soil macrofauna (Lavelle, 1997).…”