27Although plant--soil interactions are increasingly recognized as an important factor in ecosystem 28 restoration, their effects on community assembly during de novo ecosystem establishment are 29 largely unknown. In a heathland restoration trial after topsoil removal we introduced either only 30 aboveground heathland species with fresh herbage or both above--and belowground heathland 31 species with sods to facilitate community assembly. Sod inoculation increased resemblance of the 32 microbial community to the reference system, with a higher fungal and lower bacterial proportion to 33 the community structure. Also densities of bacteriophagous and phytophagous nematodes, Acari and 34 Collembola increased after sod inoculation. The cover of heathland plant species increased by 49% 35 after sod inoculation. The introduction of solely aboveground heathland species increased the cover 36 of these species by only 13%, and did not affect soil community assembly. Additionally, the increase 37 in cover of heathland species over time was inversely correlated to the cover of mesotrophic 38 grassland species. Inverse correlations were also observed between changes in fungal and bacterial 39 abundances. Simultaneous introduction of key species of both above--and below--ground 40 communities had a critical effect on the establishment of both communities, providing a potential 41 shortcut for successful restoration of target ecosystems on disturbed soils. 42 43 Key words:; restoration; ecological filters; fungi; heathlands; mesofauna; bacteria 44 45 1. Introduction 46 47 Ecosystem assembly is a fundamental concept in ecology. Traditionally the focus has been on the direct, pathway is associated with the interaction between roots and soil organisms such as 52 symbionts and pathogens. A second, indirect, pathway includes interactions between decomposers 53 and plants and concerns nutrient cycling rates and soil formation (Wardle et al. 2004). The extent to 54 which aboveground community composition affects belowground development and vice versa is still 55 largely unclear. It is suggested that the soil community may either follow or facilitate vegetation 56 development, dependant on the ecosystem (Harris 2009). 57 58 Little is known about the sequence in which characteristic above--and below--ground species have to 59 establish for a smooth ecosystem development. While especially late--successional plants may need 60 particular soil organisms to function properly (De Deyn et al. 2003, Frouz et al. 2008), the 61 establishment of these soil organisms themselves may depend on the presence of characteristic 62 plant species which promote the development of a typical organic soil layer (Frouz et al. 2009). 63 Studies that included analysis of both above--and below--ground development during succession of 64 semi--natural grassland or dwarf shrub vegetation reported varying results: in some studies both 65 above--and below--ground communities develop along similar lines (Lozano et al. 2014), while others 66 report that belowground d...

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The revitalisation of soil fauna in post-mining soils is one of the ways in which we can slow down biodiversity loss. To investigate the effect of a meadow soil transplanted directly into the spoil substrate on the colonisation of a spoil heap, we used nematodes as a tool for an assessment of success in soil fauna recolonisation. Three blocks of meadow topsoil (10 × 3 × 0.4 m) were dug out and transported as intact as possible into a bare substrate of spoil heaps near Sokolov (Czech Republic). The soil samples were taken at the beginning of the experiment (1997) and then, after 19 years (2016), were transported into blocks (B) in their surroundings in a 2 m distance (I) and, finally, 30 m from the transported blocks as a control (C), to compare and assess the complexity of soil food web. Nematode total abundances were highest in B plots and lowest in the nearby I plots at the beginning, whereas later, their abundances were highest in I plots and lowest in the control (C) plots. However, due to the high variability, abundances were statistically insignificant. The trophic composition of I plots became similar to the composition in B plots in the late phase; however, the high occurrence of predators in C plots showed a running succession even after 19 years. Our results together with previous works from the same experiment support the findings that the level of soil development has a larger impact on recolonisation by soil fauna than the migration barrier itself.

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