Soil macro-fauna community diversity and its response to seasonal freeze-thaw in the subalpine/alpine forests of western Sichuan

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1003.2012.09138

Abstract

Abstract:

In order to understand the effects of seasonal freeze-thaw on the structure of soil macro-faunal community, we conducted a field experiment in three representative fir (Abies faxoniana) forests at different elevations in the subalpine/alpine forests of western Sichuan. The composition, abundance, and diversity of soil macro-faunal community were investigated in winter (including onset of soil freezing period, soil frozen period, and soil thawing period) and growing season of vegetation from November 2008 to October 2009. A total of 10,763 individuals were collected and, according to preliminary identification, they belonged to 91 families. There were obvious differences in soil macro-faunal community structure between winter and growing season. The dominant groups in winter consisted of Hesperinidae and Sciaridae, while the ordinary groups consisted of Tipulidae, Scydmaenidae and Ceratopogonidae. However, the dominant groups in growing season consisted of Formicidae, Staphylinidae, Hesperinidae and Spirostreptida, and the ordinary groups consisted of Lithobiomorpha, Projapygidae and Muscidae. Moreover, individual density, number of taxonomic groups, and Shannon-Wiener index of soil macro-faunal community tended to decrease and then increase to a distinct peak in the soil thawing period as seasonal freeze-thaw proceeded in winter. In addition, saprozoic species dominated the functional groups in winter, and the proportion of predatory and phytophagous soil macro-faunal species increased in late soil thawing (April 25) and early growing season (May 25). Our results suggest that seasonal freeze-thaw and freezing events significantly influence the structure of soil faunal community, and that changes in the soil faunal community during the transitional period between late soil thawing and the early growing season may have important influences on ecological processes.

Key words: soil ecology, freeze-thaw cycle, biodiversity, Abies faxoniana

Bo Tan, Fuzhong Wu, Wanqin Yang, Lei Xia, , Ao Wang. Soil macro-fauna community diversity and its response to seasonal freeze-thaw in the subalpine/alpine forests of western Sichuan[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2012, 20(2): 215-223.

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URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.3724/SP.J.1003.2012.09138

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2012/V20/I2/215

Figures/Tables 7

Fig. 1 Dynamics of daily mean soil temperature at the soil depth of 5 cm in the subalpine and alpine forests of western Sichuan from November 1, 2008 to October 30, 2009.

Table 1 Number of soil freeze-thaw cycle and mean soil temperauture in the subalpine and alpine forests of western Sichuan during onset of freezing stage, deeply frozen stage, and thawing stage

森林 Forest	循环次数 Number of soil freeze-thaw cycles (n)			土壤平均温度 Soil mean temperature (℃)
森林 Forest	冻融期 OF	冻结期 DF	融化期 TS	冻融期 OF	冻结期 DF	融化期 TS
原始林(A1) Primary forest	4	0	16	0.105	-0.422	0.442
混交林(A2) Mixed forest	10	0	8	0.211	-0.562	2.601
次生林(A3) Secondary forest	5	0	6	1.150	-0.900	1.193

Fig. 2 Composition of the function groups (predators, phytophaga, and saprozoic) of soil macro-fauna in the subalpine and alpine forests of western Sichuan during onset of freezing stage, deeply frozen stage, thawing stage, and growing season. OF, Onset of freezing stage; DF, Deeply frozen stage; TS, Thawing stage; GS, Growing season.

Table 2 Characteristics of the mean density and group number of soil macro-fauna in the subalpine and alpine forests of western Sichuan during onset of freezing stage, deeply frozen stage, thawing stage, and growing season

时期 Date	土层 Layer	原始林 Primary forest		混交林 Mixed forest		次生林 Secondary forest
时期 Date	土层 Layer	密度 Density (ind./m²)	类群数量 No. of groups	密度 Density (ind./m²)	类群数量 No. of groups	密度 Density (ind./m²)	类群数量 No. of groups
冻融期 OF	I	104.60±44.11^a	30.32±6.18^a	125.00±18.57^a	37.00±6.22^a	86.40±29.45^a	28.65±6.85^a
冻融期 OF	II	30.73±15.32^a	7.75±1.67^a	46.56±9.82^a	9.82±2.11^a	28.42±11.22^a	7.41±1.35^a
冻结期 DF	I	81.33±7.55^ab	21.33±1.15^b	103.93±13.63^a	31.33±4.73^b	80.27±12.06^ab	17.67±1.52^b
冻结期 DF	II	22.15±7.62^a	4.40±0.82^b	34.11±8.72^a	5.42±0.47^b	23.11±4.32^a	4.33±0.33b
融化期 TS	I	191.00±39.52^ac	47.50±5.97^c	223.00±110.42^b	49.50±8.81^ac	151.00±70.28^ac	36.00±5.03^a
融化期 TS	II	65.79±17.35^b	11.57±2.60c	84.56±21.11^b	15.26±2.81^c	54.92±10.54^b	11.21±2.53^c
生长季节 GS	I	254.27±53.17^cd	53.33±10.67^c	295.47±61.47^b	66.22±9.50c	205.27±72.47^cd	58.33±17.67^c
生长季节 GS	II	97.53±14.38^c	18.50±4.22^d	104.56±23.48^b	20.34±3.35^d	73.42±24.35^b	16.88±2.12^d

Fig. 3 Dynamics of the mean density and group number of soil macro-fauna in the subalpine and alpine forests of western Sichuan during onset of freezing stage, deeply frozen stage, thawing stage, and growing season. The different lowercases in the same forest denote the significant difference (P = 0.05) in mean density based on the LSD. OF, Onset of freezing stage; DF, Deeply frozen stage; TS, Thawing stage; GS, Growing season.

Fig. 4 Dynamics of the functional groups (predators, phytophaga, and saprozoic) of soil macro-fauna in the subalpine and alpine forests of western Sichuan during onset of freezing stage, deeply frozen stage, thawing stage, and growing season. OF, Onset of freezing stage; DF, Deeply frozen stage; TS, Thawing stage; GS, Growing season.

Fig. 5 Dynamics of the Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H') and Pielou evenness index (J) of soil macro-fauna in the subalpine and alpine forests of western Sichuan during onset of freezing stage, deeply frozen stage, thawing stage, and growing season. OF, Onset of freezing stage; DF, Deeply frozen stage; TS, Thawing stage; GS, Growing season.

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