Experimental assessment of habitat preference and dispersal ability of soil springtails

Beside biotic interactions, habitat preference and dispersal ability of species play a prominent role in the building of animal species assemblages. However, these traits are usually very poorly documented for soil organisms. A soil transfer experiment was designed to study habitat preference (including land-use and soil preference) and dispersal ability of soil springtail species living in a meadow and in an adjoining deciduous forest. The study was performed in the Morvan Regional Natural Park (Central France), using untreated or defaunated soil blocks, transferred to another land-use or replaced in their original land-use. Land-use preference was quantified in untreated and untransferred samples from meadow and forest. Dispersal ability was estimated from the time at which species colonized defaunated samples in their own habitat. Soil preference was estimated from the colonization rate of defaunated samples by comparing transferred and untransferred soil blocks. Results showed that in the community, 6% of species were land-use generalists, 30% were soil generalists and 36% recolonized defaunated soil blocks within a week. Land-use preference, soil preference and dispersal ability were largely independent components of species characteristics. Although our experiment dealt only with small-scale colonization, comparisons between species showed that the dispersal type based on anatomical features (legs, antenna, furcula, visual apparatus) does not allow predicting the dispersal ability of these species. Discrepancies between land-use preference and soil preference suggest that other habitat features must be relevant for Collembola, and that a trade-off exists between eco-physiological and biotic interactions (including food requirements).     

Dispersal of microarthropods in forest soil

This experiment was a part of a research on the soil community in anthropogenous birch stands in Finland. In that study it was found that communities of Collembola are similar in birch stands of different origin (cultivated field or spruce forest), while the communities of Oribatida are essentially different. When compared to original spruce forest, the communities of both groups are different.Cultivation eliminates the populations of most microarthropod species, that have to disperse after reforestation from the surrounding areas. The aim of the experiment was to study the ambulatory dispersal of soil microarthropods. It was carried out in plastic boxes filled with an intact block of defaunated surface soil taken from a birch stand that was established ca. 30 years earlier on a cultivated field. A strip of intact spruce forest soil was placed at one end of the boxes to harbour the source populations. At the opposite end we placed a row of pitfall traps. Soil samples were taken every two weeks at increasing distances from the source soil using a metal corer, and animals were extracted in a high gradient apparatus. The pitfalls were also emptied every two weeks. The experiment lasted for ten weeks.Pitfall and soil sample data gave an estimation of the maximum dispersal rate for each species or genus. The distance that the populations could potentially disperse in 30 years (age of the stand) indicated that some, but not all of the species could have actively migrated to the central parts of the birch stand (30 m).     

小流域土壤可蚀性的空间变异及其在不同土地类型下的比较

以武陵山区女儿寨小流域为研究区,在流域内进行高密度采样的基础上,利用EPIC模型中土壤可蚀性K值计算方法与地统计学分析方法计算并分析了流域土壤可蚀性K值及其空间变异,结合流域土地利用图,运用面积加权平均计算了各土地利用类型下的K值并进行比较,结果表明:流域K值变化范围为0.2451~0.4623,均值为0.3289,变异系数为0.1295,流域K值存在中等程度的空间变异。K值总体分布趋势为从流域海拔低处向海拔高处逐渐减小,受人为干扰较多的区域其K值也较高。各土地利用类型下的面积加权平均K值,以果园0.3769最大,油桐0.2607最小,植被类型下的K值均低于除耕地外受人为影响因素较大的地类,说明植被在不同程度上改善了土壤性质,提高了土壤的抗侵蚀能力,但K值的大小与植被类型的差异有关。     

围封对荒漠草原物种多样性和功能多样性的影响

为揭示荒漠草原区域围封对不同土壤生境物种多样性和功能多样性的影响,以荒漠草原不同土壤生境下围封（15年、10年、6年）和放牧（15年、6年、5年）的草地植物群落为研究对象,基于方差分析和主成分分析的基础上,通过函数拟合分析,探讨植物物种多样性与功能多样性之间的关系。结果表明：（1）围封相对于自由放牧条件,灰钙土生境植物功能多样性显著增加（P<0.05）。随着封育年限的增加,物种多样性呈显著降低趋势（P<0.05）,功能多样性未发生显著变化（P>0.05）;风沙土生境植物功能多样性和物种多样性未发生显著变化（P>0.05）。（2）功能离散度表征的功能多样性与物种丰富度关系可用二次多项式Y=aX²+bX+c形式表示,随着封育年限的增加,二者的相关系数在灰钙土和风沙土生境均呈增加趋势。荒漠草原物种多样性与功能多样性整体正相关,且符合二次函数关系,物种多样性可以用来反映植物群落功能多样性的水平高低,但这种替代作用受封育年限和放牧的影响,随着封育年限增加,物种多样性反映功能多样性水平的能力增加,在未来荒漠草原多样性与生态系统功能关系及维持机制中,需要同时考虑多样性的多维度特征以及不同土壤生境类型。     

黄土丘陵沟壑区土壤资源利用及其保护的研究──以耀县树林村林场土壤资源评价为例

该文通过黄土丘陵沟壑区耀县树林村林场的土壤调查和分析，以土种为单元进行了土壤分类。用等化指数和与积的平均百分数评价了土壤质量。结合土壤质量以及与水土保持相关的土地利用现状，提出了协调生态环境及改善和发展经济的土地利用对策。     

上海嘉定区表土磁性强度的空间分异及环境指示意义

在上海嘉定区,按土地利用方式的多样性和空间分布的均匀性,采集31个表土(0～5 cm)样品,分析表土磁化率(χlf)和重金属元素(Cu、Zn、Pb、Cd、Cr、Mn)含量。结果表明:表土χlf普遍增强,且空间分异很大,变幅在35.1×10-8～1 676.9×10-8m3kg-1,平均值为177.9×10-8m3kg-1。表土磁化率随土地利用方式的不同呈现出显著差异,总体看:工业土壤>马路绿地>农耕土壤>林地土壤。表土磁性的增强与重金属元素的累积有密切联系:表土χlf与Zn、Cr、Cd的含量呈极显著正相关(p<0.01);表土χlf与重金属综合污染指数呈显著正相关(p<0.05)。嘉定表土磁性特征的研究进一步表明,磁学方法可作为监测和评估上海土壤重金属污染的有效手段。     

Diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi along an environmental gradient in the Brazilian semiarid

Plants host, environmental characteristics and dispersal limitation are the main factors affecting the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in global scale, whereas at the local scale other factors might also influence the composition of the AMF community. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the diversity of AMF and to relate it with the richness of plant species, season (dry or rainy) and soil parameters along an environmental gradient to know which are the drivers of the spatial distribution of AMF in the Brazilian semiarid. The gradient was composed of a dry forest (DF), a transitional zone (TZ) and a moist forest (MF). Ten soil samples were collected during the rainy (August 2011) and dry (February 2012) seasons in each site. The soil properties were determined, as well as AMF diversity, the latter based on morphological spore identification. There were significant differences between the DF and the other two areas in most soil chemical parameters, whereas the majority of soil attributes in the MF and TZ were similar. Altogether, 50 AMF species were identified, and the genera Acaulospora and Glomus were predominant. The AMF community structure in DF was significantly different from the other two areas by ordination (NMDS) and statistical method (PERMANOVA). However, the highest species diversity, based on the Shannon index, occurred in the TZ. The AMF community structure differed between seasons, with greater spore abundance in the dry season. Spatial AMF distribution was influenced by plants host, season, but the soil was the main factor. Four edaphic attributes showed approximately 60% of correlation with AMF community composition (Zn, Mg, base saturation and clay) based on the BIO-ENV analysis. We conclude that vegetation, seasonal variations and soil type affect the AMF diversity, and that the latter is a key factor for the similarity/dissimilarity of AMF communities between areas in the Brazilian semiarid.     

Global diversity and distribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form associations with most land plants and can control carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling between above- and belowground components of ecosystems. Current estimates of AM fungal distributions are mainly inferred from the individual distributions of plant biomes, and climatic factors. However, dispersal limitation, local environmental conditions,and interactions among AM fungal taxa may also determine local diversity and global distributions. We assessed the relative importance of these potential controls by collecting 14,961 DNA sequences from 111 published studies and testing for relationships between AM fungal community composition and geography, environment, and plant biomes. Our results indicated that the global species richness of AM fungi was up to six times higher than previously estimated, largely owing to high beta diversity among sampling sites. Geographic distance, soil temperature and moisture, and plant community type were each significantly related to AM fungal community structure, but explained only a small amount of the observed variance. AM fungal species also tended to be phylogenetically clustered within sites, further suggesting that habitat filtering or dispersal limitation is a driver of AM fungal community assembly. Therefore, predicted shifts in climate and plant species distributions under global change may alter AM fungal communities.     

模糊逻辑在土地利用遥感分类中的应用

由于影像信息提取过程蕴涵的诸多不确定性以及土地类别描述语境信息的含糊性影响,遥感数据的常规土地利用分类面临诸多困难与挑战。而模糊分类系统作为一种最为强大的软分类器,能处理、分析和表征遥感信息中传感器测量数据的不精确性、土地类别描述中的含糊性以及模型模拟中的不严密性,从而输出更能表达人类知识缺陷、更符合真实世界客观事实的分类结果,因此被认为是一种较好的土地利用遥感分类手段。本文以南京城市边缘带一样区为例,在采用地物导向分割技术对遥感影像分割的基础上,充分利用影像地物自身的光谱组合特征值以及其他空间形状、拓扑特征以及语境关系信息,按照模糊监督分类的过程来对研究区土地利用信息进行提取。研究结果表明基于遥感数据源的土地利用模糊分类系统可以获得比常规硬分类手段更为合理、信息含量更为丰富的输出结果。     

Relationship between vegetation diversity and soil functional diversity in native mixed-oak forests

Most studies on the interactions between aboveground vegetation and belowground soil diversity have been carried out in microcosms or manipulated field plots. In the current study, we investigated the relationship between forest vegetation diversity and soil functional diversity (calculated from the activity of soil enzymes) in naturally developed plant communities of native mixed-oak forests without imposing any disturbances to already existing plant–soil relationships. In order to do so, five different vegetation types, i.e., herbaceous plants, climbing plants, trees, shrubs, and ferns, were considered. Correlations between plant diversity, soil physicochemical properties, and soil enzyme activities were determined. Soil physicochemical parameters appeared strongly correlated with both enzyme activities (e.g., pH was positively correlated with amidase and arylsulphatase, and negatively with acid phosphatase; OM content was positively correlated with β-glucosidase, acid and alkaline phosphatase and urease, and negatively with amidase; total N was positively correlated with β-glucosidase, and acid and alkaline phosphatase, and negatively with amidase) and soil functional diversity. For ferns, strong correlations between enzyme activities and plant diversity indexes were found (i.e., dehydrogenase was positively correlated with species richness and Shannon's diversity; acid and alkaline phosphatase were negatively correlated with Shannon's diversity; acid phosphatase was also negatively correlated with species richness). Most interestingly, herbaceous plants and ferns showed a strong positive correlation between Shannon's plant diversity and soil functional diversity. Furthermore, herbaceous plants showed a strong positive correlation between species richness and soil functional diversity. Although these correlations between plant diversity and soil functional diversity might possibly be due to the fact that higher values of plant richness and diversity result in a greater habitat heterogeneity in the soil, current knowledge on the topic is mixed and very incomplete and, then, one must be extremely cautious when interpreting such correlations.     

Quantifying the contributions of sediment, sediment-P and fertiliser-P from forested, cultivated and pasture areas at the landuse and catchment scale using fallout radionuclides and geochemistry

In this paper we use a combination of fallout nuclides and geochemistry to determine the contributions of sediment and sediment bound phosphorus (sed-P) from the major diffuse sources in the Bundella Creek catchment (8700 ha), NSW, Australia. Sources include surface erosion from cultivated, pasture and steep forested land as well as subsoil erosion from channels and gullies. We determine these contributions to the <10 μm fraction of deposited sediments. Concentrations of P were higher in the surface soils of each landuse than the underlying subsoils, and erosion from these contributed more to offsite sediment-P (60%) than did subsoil erosion at the individual landuse scale. At the catchment outlet, the amount of surface sediment eroded from cultivated lands was a factor of 84 higher than from pastures; the steep forested lands contributed 9 times more than pastures. Sed-P eroded from cultivated land was 42 times higher than from pasturelands; the forests were 8 times greater than from pastures. At the catchment outlet the largest contribution of sediment (70%) and sed-P (62%) was from subsoil erosion of gullies and channels within and between the different landuse areas. There was little contribution of sediment or sed-P at the catchment scale from surface erosion of pastures. Concentrations of P were highest in ‘storm event’ suspended sediment samples taken from the pasture and cultivated areas without gullies. In a suite of samples selected for their high P contents, fertiliser P was detected in two storm event suspended sediment samples and one deposited sediment sample, using the ratio of Nd/P. This suggests fertiliser P may be transported-off landsurfaces with sediments and contribute to offsite sediment-P concentrations in some situations. However, the fertiliser contributions were episodic and variable; and probably influenced by particle size selectivity as well as timing of fertiliser application with respect to size and occurrence of subsequent rainfall.     

Effect of fencing,artificial seeding and abandonment on vegetation composition and dynamics of ‘black soil land’ in the headwaters of the Yangtze and the Yellow Rivers of the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

Rangeland management can affect plant diversity and plant functional groups of native grassland communities. To improve pasture for livestock grazing from the existing poisonous and ruderal vegetation in the ‘black soil land’ grassland in the headwaters of the Yangtze and the Yellow Rivers (HAYYR) of the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau, three treatments (fencing‐FT, artificial seeding with local grasses‐ST and abandonment‐AT) were applied during a 5‐year period (2000–2005). Plant diversity and groups (sedges, grasses and dwarf shrubs) in the treated plots were compared with non‐treated control plots. Results showed that (1) FT promoted an increase in forbs species, but there was no change in the other plant functional groups; (2) with ST, species richness of forbs decreased but grass species increased indicating that sowing local grasses could change plant composition of black soil land in the short‐term, and increase the proportion of grasses and, thus, forage for grazing and (3) AT, after plowing, was similar to CK plots, with forbs being the dominant plant functional group for the 5 years. In conclusion, the goal to alter black soil land cover from poisonous and ruderal plants to more useful plants for livestock grazing by either fencing, artificial seeding or abandonment was not successful in the long term. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wind dispersal of oribatid mites as a mode of migration

Oribatid mites are important colonizers of young soils, but little is known about their immigration pathways. In this study, one often-stated hypothesis was tested quantitatively: that wind is an important dispersal pathway. The aim was (1) to detect wind dispersal in oribatid mites (using sticky traps at different heights above ground level) and to determine factors influencing wind dispersal, (2) to investigate whether oribatids can survive wind dispersal and immigrate by wind into young soils (using mini-pitfall traps in test plots with oribatid-free substrate, active immigration being prohibited) and (3) to find out whether those oribatids are able to colonize young soils (using soil cores from the test plots). The results demonstrate (1) that mainly arboreal oribatid species were dispersed by wind - even at 160 m height - and can therefore be spread over large distances. Nevertheless, about 10% of the wind-dispersed oribatid mites belonged to species able to live in the soil and may therefore be potential colonizers of young soils. The number of specimen and species transported by wind was the highest close to the soil surface and the number of dispersed individuals was mainly influenced by seasonality and humidity. The results also suggest that the probability of a soil oribatid being dispersed by wind depends on its original microhabitat (tree habitats > soil surface > deeper soil layers) and its body weight. It was also shown that soil-dwelling oribatid mites survived wind dispersal and immigrated by wind into the test plots and that colonization of the test plots took at least 2 months longer than immigration. However, colonization success was low during the first 2 years of investigation and only Trichoribates incisellus was found several times in the nutrient-poor substrate. Therefore, wind dispersal is an important migration pathway, especially for arboreal oribatids. We suggest that immigration into young soils most likely occurs by repeated short-distance dispersal. Only some species are able to survive the hostile conditions of wind dispersal as well as of pioneer soils, but those that do are potentially the founders of new populations.     

Soil microbial communities: Influence of geographic location and hydrocarbon pollutants

The importance and relevance of the geographical origin of the soil sample and the hydrocarbons in determining the functional or species diversity within different bacterial communities was evaluated using the community level physiological profiles (CLPP) and Polymerase Chain Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). Hydrocarbon contaminated and uncontaminated soils from different geographical locations were used in the study. In addition, the influence or relevance of the geographical location of the sample was further evaluated by artificially contaminating soils from different geographical locations with different petroleum products. The hydrocarbons rather than the geographical origin of the sample appear to be more important in determining functional or species diversity within the bacterial communities. Cluster analysis of the different community profiles using both functional and molecular responses revealed that the samples from different locations were as different as samples from the same location but from contaminated versus uncontaminated soils. The results of the soils from different locations artificially contaminated by different hydrocarbons also reached the same conclusion. The samples from different soils were as different as samples from the same soil contaminated by different petroleum products. In addition, the removal rate of the different hydrocarbons in the artificially contaminated soil was different. The results suggest that the pollutants rather than the geographical origin of the sample might be more important in determining the functional or species diversity within bacterial communities.     

Functional implications of soil fauna diversity in boreal forests

This paper is a review of recent experiments dealing with the role of soil fauna in decomposition, mineralisation and primary production in coniferous forest soils. The experiments have been grouped according to the degree and nature of the ‘diversity gradient' between the ‘more diverse' community and its control: single animal species or an uncontrolled mixture of species versus microbiota only, several known animal species of the same trophic group versus one species only (species diversity), two or more functional groups versus one only, and food chains with predators versus microbes and microbivores only. The evidence available at present suggests that taxonomic diversity and predation have no consistent effects on the process rates in soil, while adding to the ‘functional' or ‘trophic group diversity' results in a more predictable enhancement in mineralisation. Especially the enchytraeid Cognettia sphagnetorum seems to be a keystone species in boreal forest soils. However, there are only few experiments in which species diversity per se has been taken as a separate factor, without a simultaneous change in the number of trophic groups or in total decomposer biomass.     

基于SWAT模型的径流与土壤侵蚀过程模拟

将可表征土地利用变化对水文响应影响的分布式水文模型SWAT应用于密云水库潮河子流域,对模型的敏感性进行了分析,并采用1986～1991年下会水文站数据对其径流量和泥沙负荷进行了率定和验证,模型评估结果表明该模型对径流的模拟效果非常好,对泥沙的模拟效果较好。通过计算34个子流域内的侵蚀模数,对流域内的土壤侵蚀强度进行了分级,并分析了不同土地利用方式对产沙的影响。结果表明,流域内的土壤侵蚀主要发生在农田,为保障密云水库的水质应对其采取有效的水土保持措施。     

Diversity and biogeography of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in agricultural soils

It has widely been acknowledged that the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is greatly affected by climate, land use intensity, and soil parameters. The objective of this study was to investigate AMF diversity in multiple agricultural soils (154 sites; 92 grasslands and 62 croplands) distributed over all agricultural regions in Switzerland and differing in a number of soil parameters (e.g., land use type and intensity, and altitude). We highlighted the main factors responsible for major AMF community shifts and documented specific distribution patterns for each AMF species. AMF spores were morphologically identified and counted for each species. In total, 17,924 spores were classified and 106 AMF species were identified. In general, AMF species richness (SR) was higher in grasslands than in croplands. In croplands, SR increased with altitude but this trend was not observed in grasslands. Some species occurred at virtually all sites, while others were rarely detected, and for others, species-specific distribution patterns were revealed. Some species were affected by land use type or intensity, or related factors like soil organic matter, soil microbial biomass and respiration or nutrient availability. Other species were more affected by soil pH and related parameters like base saturation and carbonate contents, by soil texture, or by altitude, or by a combination of two to several of all these parameters. We conclude that a high number of AMF species may serve as indicator species for specific habitats and land use. These species might deliver certain ecosystem services at their habitats and deserve further investigation about their functional diversity.     

Habitat quality, conspecific density, and habitat pre-use affect the dispersal behaviour of two earthworm species, Aporrectodea icterica and Dendrobaena veneta, in a mesocosm experiment

Dispersal capacity is a life-history trait that may have profound consequences for earthworm populations: it influences population dynamics, species persistence and distribution and community structure. It also determines the level of gene flow between populations and affects processes such as local adaptation, speciation and the evolution of life-history traits. It may play a great role in soil functioning by determining the spatial distribution of ecosystem engineers such as earthworms. Dispersal is an evolutionary outcome of the behaviour in response to the ecological constraints of the species. Hence different dispersal behaviour is expected from the different ecological types of earthworms. Nevertheless the dispersal behaviour of earthworms has been little documented.In this work we test a series of basic mechanisms that are fundamental and complementary to understand earthworms dispersal behaviour. We focus on the dispersal triggered by environmental conditions, a fundamental process usually termed “conditional dependent dispersal”. We show experimentally in mesocosms that in one week: 1) earthworm dispersal can be triggered by low habitat quality, either through soil quality or the presence/absence of litter. 2) Earthworms can be subject to positive density dependent dispersal, that is the rate of dispersal increases when density increases; and 3) earthworm dispersal can be reduced by the pre-use of the soil by conspecific individuals that are no longer present.Our results suggest that earthworms may be more mobile than expected from previous estimations, and that they present high capacities of habitat selection. In the light of our findings we elaborate a behavioural scenario of earthworm foraging, and propose several priority working directions.     

Decreases in microbial functional diversity do not result in corresponding changes in decomposition under different moisture conditions

This study compares the functional capability of soils with differing microbial diversity. Soil microbial diversity was modified by either fumigation with reinoculation by unfumigated soil or fumigation with no reinoculation. Functional capability was assessed by following wheat straw decomposition in these soils and in an unfumigated control soil at three matric potentials (−5, −125 and −800 kPa). The changes in diversity after fumigation were compared with the effects of disturbance treatments (slow air-drying, rapid oven-drying, 2 mm sieving and 0.5 mm sieving) by studying patterns of in situ catabolic potential (ISCP) at 1 and 8 weeks. Five weeks after the fumigation treatments, the functional and phenotypic diversity of the soil microbial community, as revealed by patterns of ISCP and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles, respectively, were greatly different from that in unfumigated soil. The effects of the fumigation reinoculation treatment on functional diversity were comparable with those caused by rapid oven-drying, but were greater than the effects of 0.5 mm sieving. These disturbance treatments caused persistent changes in functional diversity, whereas slow air-drying and 2 mm sieving had little influence on diversity. Rates of straw decomposition were initially greater in the fumigated reinoculated soil than in the unfumigated soil at all moisture potentials. In contrast, straw mineralisation rates in the fumigated uninoculated soil generally exceeded rates in unfumigated soil for a period after 14 d, which was shorter at greater moisture potentials. These rates resulted in total straw mineralisation in fumigated reinoculated soil exceeding that in unfumigated soil at all moisture potentials. Compared with the unfumigated soils, total straw mineralisation in fumigated uninoculated soil was less at −5 kPa, similar at −125 kPa and greater at −800 kPa. The results indicated that the decomposition function of soil with reduced functional diversity can be diminished under optimum moisture conditions, but is not invariably reduced when assessed under suboptimal moisture conditions. This indicated that decreases in the functional diversity of soil microbial communities may not consistently result in declines in soil functioning.     

Plant biomass, soil water content and soil N:P ratio regulating soil microbial functional diversity in a temperate steppe: A regional scale study

Soil microorganisms are influenced by various abiotic and biotic factors at the field plot scale. Little is known, however, about the factors that determine soil microbial community functional diversity at a larger spatial scale. Here we conducted a regional scale study to assess the driving forces governing soil microbial community functional diversity in a temperate steppe of Hulunbeir, Inner Mongolia, northern China. Redundancy analysis and regression analysis were used to examine the relationships between soil microbial community properties and environmental variables. The results showed that the functional diversity of soil microbial communities was correlated with aboveground plant biomass, root biomass, soil water content and soil N: P ratio, suggesting that plant biomass, soil water availability and soil N availability were major determinants of soil microbial community functional diversity. Since plant biomass can indicate resource availability, which is mainly constrained by soil water availability and N availability in temperate steppes, we consider that soil microbial community functional diversity was mainly controlled by resource availability in temperate steppes at a regional scale.