Spatio-temporal heterogeneity differently drives the diversity of various trophic guilds of mesofauna in semi-arid oak forests

Does Gamasid mites (Acari, Mesostigmata) observed in oil palm and rubber plantations can be used as indicators of tropical secondary forest soil transformation?

“…We can find the coexistence of some Gamasid mites in forests due to the heterogeneity of trophical source. Spatial distance between the sites (Meehan et al, 2018) and living trees density (Heydari et al, 2020) had almost the same explanatory power, as environmental factors. Indeed, the mesostigmatid mites' assemblages became more dissimilar with increasing spatial distance (Meehan et al, 2018).…”

“…Living trees especially maintain populations of soil mites in forests as their abundance is higher in soil near growing trees (Kamczyc et al, 2020). The differences in the mesofauna abundance, diversity and composition should be related to the characteristics of the woody species (Heydari et al, 2020). The conversion of forests into rubber and oil palm plantations is clearly viewed as an acute threat to plant diversity, which was also lower in monocultural plantations than in forests (Drescher et al, 2016;Singh et al, 2021).…”

“…Indeed, the mesostigmatid mites' assemblages became more dissimilar with increasing spatial distance (Meehan et al, 2018). The greater diversity of microhabitats and high spatial heterogeneity of the forest in the horizontal dimension (e.g., different branch and canopy abundance, variation of forest light and temperature) and vertical variations in the quantity and quality of leaves and woody texture can create different microclimates beneficial for the mesostigmatid mites (Díaz-Aguilar et al, 2013; Heydari et al, 2020).…”

“…The soil mesofauna with climate, together actively participate in the initial fragmentation (decomposition) of organic matter and cycling of both macro-and micronutrients back into forms that plants can use (Dhooria, 2016;Zagatto et al, 2020). However, the activity of mesostigmatid mites is higher beneath trees, where soil pH, water content and organic carbon are higher (Heydari et al, 2020). The changes in abundance, diversity and the species richness of mite assemblages within the rubber and oil palm landscapes could be a direct result of changes in environmental conditions (e.g., insulation, rainfall, atmospheric and soil temperature, relative humidity, soil moisture) after the secondary forests transformation (Dervash et al, 2018;Meehan et al, 2018;Zagatto et al, 2020;Pator and Ray, 2021).…”

“…carbon and nutrients, most importantly nitrogen which limits the growth of plants, soil microorganisms and soil animals (Eißfeller, 2013). Plants and soil organisms are strictly linked to each other and aboveground and belowground communities can be powerful mutual drivers (Heydari et al, 2020). For this reason, the conversion of rainforest into monoculture plantations is likely to have a strong impact on belowground biodiversity.…”