Community structure of soil mites under different crops and its response to environmental factors in the buffer zone of Shibing Karst World Natural Heritage

Abstract

To reveal the differences in the community structure of soil mites under different crop environments in the buffer zone of the Shibing Karst World Natural Heritage Site, soil mites from corn fields (CF), pear tree lands (PL), tobacco fields (TF), grape fields (GF), and plum gardens (PG) were collected in the buffer zone in January 2022. Through the identification of mite specimens and data analysis, differences in the number of families, genera, individuals, individual density, diversity, similarity of communities, ecological groups of oribatid mites, and responses to environmental factors of soil mites under different crop environments were determined. The results showed that: (1) A total of 6941 soil mites were captured in the study area, belonging to 130 genera, 75 families, and 3 orders. The number of soil mite genera (CF and TF > PL > PG > GF) and number of soil mite individuals (PG > PL > GF > TF > CF) showed characteristics of differential distribution and surface soil aggregation in the five habitats. (2) Scheloribates, Protorobotritia, and Tectocepheus were the dominant genera in the study area. Lohmannia, Scheloribates, and Tectocepheus, representative species that indicate a good soil environment, were distributed in the sample plots of CF, PL, and PG to varying degrees, indicating that the ecological environment of these three crops was healthy. (3) The diversity index of PG was the highest, and similarity analysis of the five habitats revealed that they were at a medium level of similarity. (4) The ecological groups of oribatid mites in the different crop environments were dominated by the overall (O) type, which is a combination of Macropylina, Gymnonota, and Poronota. (5) The community structure of soil mites was sensitive to bulk density (BD), natural water content (NWC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total potassium (TK), available potassium (AK), and soil organic matter (SOM). Based on the above results, there were differences in the community structures of soil mites under different crop environments in the study area. The identification of the dominant mite genera can preliminarily indicate the environmental conditions of different crops, and a special correlation exists between the community structure of mites and environmental factors. Studying the community structure of mites in different crop environments in the Shibing Karst World Natural Heritage Site buffer zone is important in ensuring the ecological protection and sustainable development of the buffer zone. Furthermore, the results of this study support the role of the buffer zone as an ecological protection barrier for the heritage site.

Soil oribatid mite community structure and its relationship with environmental factors in different agricultural land-use types in Shibing Karst

“…Differences in the composition and distribution of soil oribatid mite communities in different agricultural land-use A total of 1220 oribatid mites were captured in the study area, belonging to 41 families and 79 genera. Scheloribates, Oppiella, Scutovertex, Xylobates, and Tectocepheus are the dominant groups of soil oribatid mites, which is similar to the research results of Chen et al [6,23,32,36,51]. From the perspective of agricultural land, there are 681 oribatid This may be because the thick litter layer in GP provides a good habitat environment and food resources for the survival and reproduction of soil oribatid mites, resulting in complex community structure of soil oribatid mites, and the number of individuals and groups and genera is higher than other habitats.…”

“…The Soil type is mainly lime soil formed by the weathering of limestone and dolomite [41]. The buffer zone is distributed with large-scale tobacco fields and golden pear gardens, while traditional farmland is mainly corn fields [36]. The planting of corn, golden pears, and tobacco in the buffer zone has been carried out for a long time and has a wide planting range, with high transportation accessibility, which is conducive to the selection, setting, and sample collection of research plots [42].…”

“…Spatial and local environmental factors change the soil environment and, thereby, the structure of the soil mite community through a single or comprehensive action [21][22][23]. The physical and chemical properties of plant litter and soil are important reasons for affecting the change of soil oribatid mite community structure [24], such as soil temperature and humidity [25].…”

“…The physical and chemical properties of plant litter and soil are important reasons for affecting the change of soil oribatid mite community structure [24], such as soil temperature and humidity [25]. Through the correlation analysis of soil organic matter, pH and other soil environmental indicators with the number of individuals and groups of soil oribatid mites, it can provide an important basis for screening the indicator species for soil environmental monitoring [23,26]. In the special soil environment of Karst caves, available nitrogen, available potassium and light intensity are the main environmental factors affecting the soil oribatid mite community [27].…”

“…Currently, there is a diversity of research on oribatid mites [28], among which research on oribatid mites in heritage sites mainly includes reports on new species of oribatid mites [29], seasonal distribution characteristics of oribatid mites [30], investigation of oribatid mites groups and individual numbers, and community structure of mites under different forest and crop types [29,[31][32][33][34][35][36]. These studies provide us with some reference materials, but there is a lack of research on describing the structure of soil oribatid mites communities from the perspective of heritage buffer zones [23]. As the 'barrier umbrella' of the core area of heritage sites, buffer zones have the function of protecting the outstanding universal value of heritage sites.…”