Soil fauna and its potential use in the ecological restoration of dryland ecosystems

Abstract

In dryland environments, where rain is scarce and unpredictable, ecological restoration of degraded ecosystems presents significant challenges. Several restoration techniques based on the functioning of ecosystems have emerged, emphasizing the ecological interactions that promote natural succession. In other environments, the use of soil fauna has been recommended to help accelerate ecological succession due to its effects on the maintenance and improvement of the physical–chemical and biological properties of the soil. Soil fauna is also a seed disperser. It indirectly contributes to the early regeneration of the aboveground community, controls pests, and directly contributes to the maintenance of biological processes in soil. However, its use to restore dryland environments has seldom been considered. Based on a bibliographic review, several key aspects of the importance and the use of soil fauna in the ecological restoration of dryland ecosystems are discussed, and several recommendations are given. The successional, spatial, and functional aspects are considered to focus on the restoration context. In addition, technical recommendations are provided to accelerate the rapid colonization of soil fauna and to foster the recovery of soil processes. And lastly, the importance of carrying out future manipulative studies investigating the effects of specific soil groups on dryland ecological restoration is highlighted, specifically regarding the improvement of functional parameters such as soil stability and quality.

Atlantic Forest restoration recovers physical and biological properties in the short term, but not the general soil quality

“…Vegetation restoration improves macroinvertebrates' habitat, and soil fauna can accelerate the restoration process by improving the soil's physical–chemical and biological properties (Morales‐Márquez & Meloni, 2022). For example, the soil arthropods are involved in organic matter decomposition and translocation, nutrient cycling, microflora activity regulation, and bioturbation (Menta & Remelli, 2020).…”

Multi-Trophic Species Diversity Contributes to the Restoration of Soil Multifunctionality in Degraded Karst Forests through Cascading Effects

“…Soil fauna, a key element of soil biodiversity, is vital to terrestrial ecosystem processes and acts as an important consumer in ecosystems [27,28]. Compared with producer and decomposer trophic levels, there have been relatively few studies on ecosystem functions involving the consumer trophic level.…”

Abiotic and biotic determinants of West African termite mounds in altered land

“…Innovative interventions are necessary to foster the restoration and ensure a viable ecosystem functioning (Morales‐Márquez & Meloni, 2022). In this context, early colonisation of termites succeeds the recovery of soil architecture and biological processes, improving the ecosystem’ functioning of bowé (Hardegree et al, 2016; Padonou et al, 2020).…”