Diversity and functional structure of soil animal communities suggest soil animal food webs to be buffered against changes in forest land use.

ABSTRACT: Forest soil and litter is inhabited by a diverse community of animals, which directly and indirectly rely on dead organic matter as habitat and food resource. However, community composition may be driven by biotic or abiotic forces, and these vary with changes in habitat structure and resource supply associated with forest land use. To evaluate these changes, we compiled comprehensive data on the species composition of soil animal communities and environmental factors in forest types varying in land-use intensity in each of three regions in Germany, i.e., coniferous, young managed, old managed, and unmanaged beech forests. Coniferous forests featured high amounts of leaf litter and low microbial biomass concentrations contrasting in particular unmanaged beech forests. However, soil animal

SUBMITTER: Pollierer MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8139884 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature