Long-term effects of inundation dynamics and agricultural land-use on the distribution of soil macrofauna in fluvisols

The distribution of soil macrofauna was studied in fluvisols. Ordination procedures were used to investigate changes in pppulation structure, long-term effects of agriculture, and inundation dynamics. The main environmental factor in the decrease in species numbers, abundances, and fresh biomass of isopods and diplopods in intensively farmed sites was the gradient of agricultural land-use. The land-use gradient also influenced the earthworm community by increasing the fresh biomass and the mean individual weight of adults. The long-term effects of inundations on the soil macrofauna distribution showed that several species preferred periodically or episodically flooded locations.