In a soil ecosystem, bottom-up control is generally considered more influential than topdown
control, although some empirical studies have suggested that predators have a trophic cascade
effect on soil animals at lower trophic levels. In the present study, the effects of the long-clawed shrew,
a mammalian predator at a high trophic level, on the soil invertebrate community and litter decomposition
were investigated in a field experiment using enclosures. In the presence of the shrew, the population
densities of earthworms, isopods and spiders tended to decrease, whereas that of large springtails
and centipedes appeared to increase. This result might have been caused by the shrew’s direct predation
on the former invertebrates and the release from predation by spiders on springtails. The reason of the
increase of centipedes was unknown. Shrew had no effects on litter decomposition rates both by litter
trap analysis and litter-bag test. The top-down effects of shrews on litter decomposition might have
been diluted through a complex food-web and the observing period of the present study might be too
short to detect litter decomposition process. Experiment for longer time might demonstrate more
explicit effect of the shrew on the soil ecosystem