Sensitivity of different taxonomic levels of soil Gamasina to land use and anthropogenic disturbances

Abstract

1 The effect of taxonomic level on the sensitivity of bioindicators has been widely investigated in aquatic ecosystems and, to a lesser extent, in terrestrial ecosystems. However, no studies have been conducted on the sensitivity of the different taxonomic levels of soil mites, especially Gamasina, to human activities. 2 The present study aimed to assess the sensitivity of different taxonomic levels of soil Gamasina mites to anthropogenic disturbances in Europe and Argentina. We arranged the data from previous projects in a hierarchical system and conducted a study to identify the critical taxonomical levels that had the highest discriminative potential between sites (Europe and Argentina) or management types (forests, grasslands, fallows, succession, recultivation and agricultural sites). 3 For the Gamasina community, geographical location was by far more important than the influence of any land use type. The analysis including only the European sites demonstrated that communities belonging to sites subjected to different land uses were also significantly different. 4 The species data set provided a clearer separation of sites according to both the geographical and the land-use gradients than the genus and family data sets. The genus and, to a lesser extent, the family approach may be sufficient to elucidate the influence of great geographical differences and also of certain land uses (e.g. grasslands from the forests and arable sites). 5 Species presence/absence data provided valuable information in our analyses, although the use of quantitative data yielded a clearer separation of sites.

Edaphic Mites and Their Response to the Incorporation of Organic Matter From Various Species of Fabaceae Into the Soil Beneath Coffee Trees

“…Since mites live in soil, they may serve as indicators of soil quality (Rieff 2010). Therefore, the collection of certain edaphic organisms and the analysis of their population parameters (e.g., richness, abundance, exclusive species and quality indicator species) permits the evaluation of soil quality in cultivated areas and natural environments (Ruf 1998;Ruf and Beck 2005;Bedano and Ruf 2010). Such information can contribute to the maintenance, recovery and restoration of the environmental health, and thus, to the sustainability of ecosystems (Ruf 1998;Ruf and Beck 2005;Bedano and Ruf 2010).…”

Diversity of soil mites (Acari: Mesostigmata: Gamasina) in various deciduous forest ecosystems of Muntenia region (southern Romania)

“…Gamasids, as one group of soil mites, are predators, influencing population growth of other organisms and controlling the abundance of springtails, soil-dwelling mites, larvae and eggs of insects as well as nematodes and enchytraeids. Therefore they have an indirect effect on the structure and function of ecosystems, affecting decomposition of organic matter, nutrient cycling, and formation of mycorrhiza, being an important factor in soil formation and stabilization processes (Koehler 1997(Koehler , 1999Bedano & ruf 2010). In soil they find the most favourable conditions for their development.…”

Similarities between predator mite populations (Acari: Gamasina) from natural forests in the Bucegi Massif, Romania

“…The highest number of species was recorded in the ecosystem with Abies alba (80), followed by the ecosystem with Fagus sylvatica (73) and the ecosystem with Picea abies (68) ( Table 2). In other ecological studies on gamasid fauna diversity, 15-140 species were recorded in undisturbed open grassland sites or shrubs ecosystems, 25 in ruderal sites, 100 in dune and agriculture ecosystems, and 90-150 in forest ecosystems (Koehler 1997;Georgescu 1981;Solomon 1982;Salmane 2000Salmane , 2003Stȃnescu & Gwiazdowicz 2004;Stȃnescu & Honciuc 2006;Gwiazdowicz 2007;Skorupski et al 2008Skorupski et al , 2009Kamczyc & Gwiazdowicz 2009;Bedano & Ruf 2010;Salmane & Brumelis 2010).…”