Influence of ecological and edaphic factors on biodiversity of soil nematodes

Abstract

Nematodes are the most diverse and highly significant group of soil-inhabiting microorganisms that play a vital role in organic material decomposition and nutrient recycling. Diverse geographical locations and environmental gradients show a significant impact on the diversity of nematodes. Present study aims to assess the effects of ecological (altitude, temperature, moisture) and edaphic (soil pH, nutrients, soil patches) factors on the soil nematode diversity and structure at five different landscape patches (forests, apple orchards, rice fields, pastures, and alpine zone) from ten different sites of Kashmir valley (India). Differences in the altitudinal gradients results in the shift of generic nematode population. Among the soil patches, highest nematode diversity was observed in forest soil and least in alpine soil; however, bacteriovorous nematodes dominated all the soil patches. The temperature and moisture have a significant effect on nematode diversity, the highest nematode trophic levels were observed above 21°C temperature, and 30% moisture. Nematode abundance decreased from alkaline to acidic pH of the soil. Soil nutrients such as, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) have shown a detrimental effect in nematode richness at each site, where nematode diversity and richness of genera were higher at abundant soil N and P but decreased at low soil nutrients. Ecological indices like diversity index (DI), Shannon-Wiener Index (H'), enrichment index (EI), and maturity Index (MI) values demonstrated forest soil more favourable for nematodes and high soil health status than other soil patches. This study suggested that these indices may be helpful as soil monitoring tools and assessing ecosystem sustainability and biodiversity.

Elevation‐related climatic factors dominate soil free‐living nematode communities and their co‐occurrence patterns on Mt. Halla, South Korea

“…This is consistent with the common paradigm in ecology that an increase in temperature promotes biological activity rates of species, in turn facilitating the interaction between the species (Yuan et al, 2021 ). (3) Climatic variables have a more important effect in determining nematode communities compared to edaphic variables in term of community diversity, community structure and community co‐occurrences, since along elevation gradients climates usually become more distinctive than soil characteristics (Nisa et al, 2021 ).…”

Short Communication: Nematodes associated with Robusta coffee plantations in Malang District, East Java, Indonesia

“…Matute et al (2012) also reported that the abundance of nematodes associated with Brassica rapa (fungivores, bacterivorous, predatory, and plant-parasitic) was negatively correlated to soil pH. Soils with acidic pH increase nematode reproduction and enhance soil microbes (Nisa et al 2021). In conclusion, nematodes belonging to eight genera were identified in the Ngantang sub-district and six genera in the Jatikerto Agrotechnopark and UB Forest.…”

“…In addition, predatory nematodes play an important role in nematode communities, acting as agents of biological control and bio-indicators of ecological change (Cock et al 2012). Ecological factors, such as altitude, plant diversity, precipitation, and temperature, affect nematode distribution, diversity, and abundance (Nisa et al 2021). Soil abiotic factors, including temperature, pH, waterholding capacity, and mineral composition, also influence nematode abundance and communities (Sholeha et al 2017;Van Den Hoogen et al 2019).…”

Spatial distribution and community analysis of plant-parasitic nematodes associated with rice (Oryza sativa L.) in Benue State, Nigeria

“…These differences may be due to geographical, weather and edaphic disparities, among other possible factors. As opined by numerous authors, the prevalence and average densities of nematode genera vary with ecological variations [22,23,24,25,26,27] . Using community analyses and based on the prominence values, the study has also showed that Meloidogyne sp.…”