Distribution patterns and impact factors of soil macrofauna communities in the riparian zone of the Pengxi River

doi:10.17520/biods.2024117

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Riparian area, a transitional zone between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, has unique ecological processes and high diversity and is sensitive to environmental changes. Soil fauna is an important component and plays a crucial ecological role in riparian ecosystem. Exploring soil fauna diversity in riparian zone is essential for fully assessing the impacts of giant water conservancy and hydropower projects on the ecological environment.

Methods A field survey of riparian zone in the Pengxi River was conducted. Eight sites and four elevations were selected to explore the spatial distribution patterns of riparian soil macrofauna communities on longitudinal and vertical scales, respectively. Key impact factors were assessed using redundancy analysis (RDA) between macrofauna communities and environmental factors. The maintenance mechanism was studied via dispersal-niche continuum indexes (DNCI) analysis.

Results A total of 57,072 individuals belonging to 16 orders and 77 families were collected and dominated by detritivores and predators. Soil macrofauna community showed distinct spatial patterns along elevations. Abundance and richness of the soil macrofauna initially increased with the flow direction and elevation and then decreased, while the Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson dominance index showed opposite trends. The relative abundance of predators decreased with elevation, while detritivores showed an inverse trend. Hydrological factors and soil physical and chemical properties accounted for 31.53% and 14.36% of the total explained variance in the riparian soil macrofauna community. Their common effects were 15.43% and 14.05%, respectively; unique effects were 16.10% and 0.31%, respectively. The importance of dispersal process in riparian zone was significantly higher than niche differentiation. No significant differences between dispersal process and niche differentiation in terrestrial habitat (180 m) was observed.

Conclusion Hydrological regime is the key impacting factor for the community composition, structure and spatial distribution pattern of riparian soil fauna. Increasing habitat heterogeneity and inducing migration between terrestrial and riparian habitat are notable pathways to maintain the diversity of riparian soil fauna communities under water level fluctuations. The results can provide an essential scientific basis for the conservation and restoration of riparian biodiversity.

Key words: soil macrofauna, riparian zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir, water level fluctuation, biodiversity

Hua Ma, Changqing Li, Pinfeng Yu, Jie Chen, Tianyao He, Kehong Wang. Distribution patterns and impact factors of soil macrofauna communities in the riparian zone of the Pengxi River[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2024, 32(7): 24117.

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URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.17520/biods.2024117

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2024/V32/I7/24117

Figures/Tables 8

References 53

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项目 Items	样点 Site	高程(样点) Elevation (Site)
丰度 Richness	1.059	3.867^***
多度 Abundance	1.662	1.814^*
多样性指数 Diversity index (H′)	1.051	2.326^**
优势度指数 Dominance index (C)	0.969	2.451^**
捕食者相对多度 Relative abundance of predator	0.807	3.925^***
杂食者相对多度 Relative abundance of omnivore	0.845	2.761^***
腐食者相对多度 Relative abundance of detritivore	0.357	9.377^***
植食者相对多度 Relative abundance of herbivore	1.109	2.997^***

项目 Items	样点 Site	高程(样点) Elevation (Site)
丰度 Richness	1.059	3.867^***
多度 Abundance	1.662	1.814^*
多样性指数 Diversity index (H′)	1.051	2.326^**
优势度指数 Dominance index (C)	0.969	2.451^**
捕食者相对多度 Relative abundance of predator	0.807	3.925^***
杂食者相对多度 Relative abundance of omnivore	0.845	2.761^***
腐食者相对多度 Relative abundance of detritivore	0.357	9.377^***
植食者相对多度 Relative abundance of herbivore	1.109	2.997^***

因素 Factors	解释量 Explanatory (%)	Monte Carlo’s P
淹水时间 Flood time (FT)	6.96	0.001
淹水深度 Flood depth (FD)	4.57	0.001
淹水频率 Flood frequency (FF)	5.31	0.001
土壤含水率 Soil moisture (SM)	12.17	0.001
坡度 Slope (SL)	3.29	0.001
土地利用类型 Land use (LU)	1.67	0.048
土壤碳氮比 Soil C-N ratio (C/N)	2.52	0.007
溶解性总氮 Dissolved total nitrogen (DTN)	1.43	0.024
溶解性有机碳 Dissolved organic carbon (DOC)	1.36	0.095
pH	1.80	0.027
土壤有机碳 Soil organic carbon (SOC)	0.54	0.549

因素 Factors	解释量 Explanatory (%)	Monte Carlo’s P
淹水时间 Flood time (FT)	6.96	0.001
淹水深度 Flood depth (FD)	4.57	0.001
淹水频率 Flood frequency (FF)	5.31	0.001
土壤含水率 Soil moisture (SM)	12.17	0.001
坡度 Slope (SL)	3.29	0.001
土地利用类型 Land use (LU)	1.67	0.048
土壤碳氮比 Soil C-N ratio (C/N)	2.52	0.007
溶解性总氮 Dissolved total nitrogen (DTN)	1.43	0.024
溶解性有机碳 Dissolved organic carbon (DOC)	1.36	0.095
pH	1.80	0.027
土壤有机碳 Soil organic carbon (SOC)	0.54	0.549

	水文情势 Hydrological regime	土壤理化性质 Soil properties	其他 Others
单独效应 Unique effects (%)	16.10	0.31	1.51
共同效应 Common effects (%)	15.43	14.05	4.26
总效应 Total effects (%)	31.53	14.36	5.77
P	0.001	0.001	0.007