Soil fauna diversity at different stages of reed restoration in a lakeshore wetland at Lake Taihu, China

Abstract

Introduction: Wetland soil fauna support material cycling and restoration processes in wetland ecosystems. In our study, we observed variations in wetland soil fauna on the shores of Lake Taihu, China. We examined the relationships between fauna and major environmental factors, and looked at the short-and long-term changes in reed wetlands under restoration and in the natural reed lakeshore. Outcomes: We identified 93 groups of soil fauna in different wetlands and found significant differences in the lakeshore wetlands' soil fauna assemblages, depending on the length of the restoration period. By analyzing the soil fauna community evenness, dominance, number of taxa, and diversity, we found minimal seasonal variation in the soil fauna community diversity and abundance. The abundance of soil fauna in the sites under restoration decreased with depth below the soil surface. The reed restoration was obvious in the succession of the soil fauna groups in the long-term site. Although the restoration had an overall positive long-term effect on the soil fauna communities, there were no obvious short-term changes in the number of individuals. Conclusion: The study explored various potential measures to restore soil fauna in the Lake Taihu wetland and developed a theoretical basis for restoring the lakeshore wetland ecosystem.

Land-Use Types Influence the Community Composition of Soil Mesofauna in the Coastal Zones of Bohai Bay, China

“…At the same time, the interactions of the aquatic and terrestrial traits may have promoted more unique taxa of the soil mesofauna. This effect was not found in the studies regarding the soil fauna in the inland wetlands [43][44][45]. In conclusion, these results confirmed the H1 hypothesis, in which the land-use types influenced the community composition of soil fauna in the coastal zones.…”

“…Armadillidiidae and Gammaridae, normally considered to be soil macrofauna taxa, were also found to be abundant in wetlands. Armadillidiidae tends to inhabit dark and humid habitats, which was also reported in the study of Li et al [43]. The majority of Armadillidiidae are considered to be omnivores, feeding on the roots and leaves of plants or the carcasses of small invertebrates.…”

Soil Macroinvertebrate Response to Paddy Rice Farming Pathways in Mpologoma Catchment, Uganda

“…These included Hirudinea, Decapoda, Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera, and Odonata. Of these, Hirudinea have previously been observed in some studies [70]. What could be driving such taxa to wetlands and paddies in particular is not certain, but could be attributed to the wetland environment itself, as some taxa have to return to water to breed, making flooded wetlands suitable habitats.…”

Diversity and distribution patterns of soil macroarthropod communities in the Nianchu River Basin, Tibet, China

“…In recent years, extensive investigations and research on soil fauna have been conducted by numerous scholars. These studies have primarily focused on their spatiotemporal distribution patterns (Pequeno et al, 2017;Yang et al, 2021) and diversity (Araujo et al, 2010;Yin et al, 2017), as well as the impact of different land use patterns on soil macroarthropod community characteristics (Jiang et al, 2015;Kelly et al, 2020;Li et al, 2020) and the relationships between soil fauna and other environmental factors (Yang et al, 2020;Tang et al, 2020). As ecological restoration efforts are being implemented in Northwest China, significant changes are expected to occur among the animal groups and populations in the local soil ecosystem.…”