Phosphorus addition increases the total abundance and favors microbivorous Collembola in subalpine plantation forest

Zhang, Ajuan; Scheu, Stefan; Bhusal, Daya Ram; Wei, Qiang; Wang, Min; Pang, Xueyong

doi:10.1016/j.apsoil.2023.104948

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…The response of springtail communities to soil carbon concentrations may indicate that both surface-dwelling and soil springtail communities were sensitive to the availability of soil organic matter (SOM) as organic matter quality is an important predictor of variation in springtail communities [94,95]. Phosphorus concentration in the soil may have affected variation in the springtail community [96] as higher phosphorus levels in the soil can lead to increased springtail abundance [96][97][98][99] and richness of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi communities [100], which are also a resource for springtails. In the case of our study, Anurophorus sp1 and Folsomia nivalis, which are respectively hemiedaphic and euedaphic, responded more favorably to the presence of phosphorus than the epigeic Lepidocyrtus sp1, as highlighted in the study by song et al [93] in the case of nitrogen.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Springtail Communities Are Resilient to Forest Tent Caterpillar Defoliation in Quebec Mixed Hardwood Forests

Koudji

Despland

Caron

et al. 2023

Forests

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Outbreaks of defoliator insects are important natural disturbances in boreal forests, but their increasing frequency under warming climate conditions is of concern. Outbreak events can shape ecosystem dynamics with cascading effects through trophic networks. Caterpillar defoliation can alter tree physiology, increase sunlight to the understory, and result in the deposition of large amounts of leaf litter and caterpillar frass to the forest floor. These modifications can thus affect soil organisms through direct (e.g., changes in soil temperature or moisture) or indirect (e.g., changes in detrital and root food webs) mechanisms. We assessed whether a recent (2015 to 2017) outbreak of the forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria) at the Lake Duparquet Teaching and Research Forest (Abitibi, QC, Canada) affected soil springtail communities, abundant microarthropods in forest soils. In 2018 and 2019, we sampled litter and soil (0–10 cm depth) at eight sites each in aspen-dominated (Populus tremuloides Michx) stands that were undefoliated or had a recent defoliation history. We found no significant difference in springtail abundance (specimens cm−2) or alpha diversity indices between undefoliated sites and those with defoliation history. However, we observed a transient change in springtail community composition 1 year after the outbreak (2018) with the absence of Folsomia nivalis, Anurophorus sp1, and Xenylla christianseni in sites with defoliation history, but no compositional differences were observed in 2019. Certain soil nutrients (P, C, Mg, Mn) were significant predictors of springtail community composition, but soil microbial biomass was not, despite its significant decrease in sites with defoliation history. Our results show that soil springtail communities respond in the short-term to the forest tent caterpillar outbreak with compositional shifts, but seem ultimately resilient to these events.

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