The Role of Microarthropods in Decomposition and Mineralization Processes

Seastedt, Timothy R.

doi:10.1146/annurev.en.29.010184.000325

Cited by 939 publications

(522 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…The main representatives of edaphic microarthropods are the mites and springtails, since they can represent up to 98% of the soil fauna (Palacios-Vargas, 1983). Its importance is mainly due to its ecological function, emphasizing its direct participation in the control of populations of fungi and bacteria (Seastedt, 1984), in the soluble mineral leaching, and in the contribution to the maintenance of physical and chemical characteristics of soils (Díaz, 1988;Sjurse & Holmstrup, 2004). However, few studies on the role of microarthropods in coffee soils (Ibarra-Núñez, 1990;Marín Castro, 2006) exist in Mexico.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oribatid mites and springtails from a coffee plantation in Sierra Sur, Oaxaca, Mexico

Rojas

Castaño-Meneses

Palacios‐Vargas

et al. 2009

Pesq. agropec. bras.

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-The objective of this work was to compare the oribatid mite and springtail communities in three plots with different soil use -Coffee (CP), secondary vegetation or fallow fields (acahual, A) and a cloud mountain forest (CMF) -within a coffee plantation located in Santa Maria Huatulco, Oaxaca State, Mexico. In each plot 20 samples (10 of soil, 10 of litter) were taken and processed in Berlese funnels. The extracted fauna was preserved in 70% ethanol. A total of 3,031 oribatid mites belonging to 33 species, and 1,177 specimens of springtails belonging to 43 species, were collected. The number of species recorded was: 27 at CP (14 oribatids; 13 springtails), 44 at A (19 oribatids; 25 springtails) and 62 at CMF (32 for each group). A total of 26 oribatid and 27 springtail species was found in the soil, and 25 oribatid and 32 springtail species were found in the litter. The most abundant species were the oribatids Rostroztes foveolatus (Haplozetidae), Tectocepheus sp. (Tecocepheidae), Karenella sp. (Oppidae), Atropacarus (Hoplophorella) cf. fonseciai (Phthiracaridae), Epilohmannia pallida americana (Epilohmannidae), and the springtails Ceratophysella cf. gibbosa (Hypogastruridae), Mesaphorura sp. (Tullbergidae) and Proisotoma cf. minuta (Isotomidae). Fourteen families and 18 species of Oribatida species and 5 families and 34 species of Collembola were recorded for the first time for the State.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oribatid mites and springtails from a coffee plantation in Sierra Sur, Oaxaca, Mexico

Rojas

Castaño-Meneses

Palacios‐Vargas

et al. 2009

Pesq. agropec. bras.

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“…Arthropod detritivores and scavengers directly and indirectly affect decomposition, carbon flux, biogeochemical cycling, and primary production [49,60,61], making them the dominant mediators of energy flow and nutrient cycling in many ecological systems. Dead arthropods themselves also contribute to detrital resources and represent significant pools of elements such as calcium [60] and a large number of detritivores feed heavily on fungi [61].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agroenergy Crops Influence the Diversity, Biomass, and Guild Structure of Terrestrial Arthropod Communities

et al. 2011

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Expanded production of contemporary bioenergy crops (e.g., corn) is considered a threat to the conservation of biodiversity, yet next-generation perennially based crops (switchgrass, mixed-grass-forb prairie) may represent an opportunity for enhancing biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. We employed a multi-scaled approach to investigate the relative importance of feedstock selection, forb content, patch size, and landscape-scale habitat structure and composition as factors shaping the diversity and abundance of terrestrial arthropod communities and the biomass of functional groups of arthropods associated with the provisioning of ecosystem services. Compared to intensively managed annual corn fields, switchgrass and mixed-grassforb prairie plantings were associated with a 230% and 324% increase in arthropod family diversity and a 750% and 2,700% increase in arthropod biomass, respectively. Biomass of arthropod pollinators, herbivores, predators, and parasites were similarly the highest in mixed-grassforb prairie, intermediate in switchgrass plantings, and the lowest in cornfields. Community-wide biomass and that of several functional arthropod groups were positively linked to increasing forest cover and land cover diversity surrounding biomass plantings, while pollinator and detritivore biomass was lower in smaller fields. Results not only suggest that the choice of biomass feedstock will play an important role in shaping within-field arthropod diversity but also indicate an important role for the composition of this surrounding landscape. Collectively, our results suggest that selection of perennially based biomass feedstocks along with careful attention to crop placement have important potential to enhance biodiversity conservation and the provisioning of ecologically and economically important arthropod-mediated ecosystem services in future agricultural landscapes.

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“…Micro-arthropods Among the soil fauna, micro-arthropods influence litter decomposition rates directly by both fragmenting and consuming plant material (Seastedt, 1984). Fragmentation or comminution contributes to residue decomposition and mineralization processes by creating additional surface area for microbial colonization.…”

Section: Decomposer Community Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soil arthropods are responsible for the initial decomposition of residues because they fragment the litter, increasing the surface area of exposed tissue, which is then colonized by saprophytic bacteria and fungi (Seastedt, 1984). These soil heterotrophs produce and release a number of extracellular enzymes that hydrolyze various components of plant detritus and soil organic matter for use as C, nutrient and energy sources (Thies and Grossman, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In-field rates of decomposition and microbial communities colonizing residues vary by depth of residue placement and plant part, but not by crop genotype for residues from two Cry1Ab Bt corn hybrids and their non-transgenic isolines

Londoño-R

Tarkalson²,

Thies

2013

Soil Biology and Biochemistry

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a b s t r a c tThe adoption of Bt corn has been largely overshadowed by concerns about their unintended effects on human health and the environment. Residues of transgenic Bt crops decomposed more slowly than their non-transgenic isolines in one laboratory study, although no mechanism to explain these observations was proposed. If Bt crop residues were to decompose more slowly in field soils, changes in carbon cycling and nutrient availability could result. We compared the in-field decomposition rates and diversity of decomposers colonizing residues of two Cry1Ab Bt corn hybrids, active against the European corn borer, with their non-transgenic isolines in litterbags placed in a Nebraska field. After five months, we found no significant differences in either the rates of residue mass loss or in the bacterial, fungal or microarthropod communities colonizing the transgenic versus the non-transgenic residues. Instead, both residue mass loss and detritivore colonizers were significantly affected by residue placement (surface versus buried) and plant part, demonstrating that environmental factors and residue quality, not the presence of the Cry1Ab protein, were the key drivers of residue decomposition and detritivore colonization in this study.

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The Role of Microarthropods in Decomposition and Mineralization Processes

Cited by 939 publications

References 56 publications

Oribatid mites and springtails from a coffee plantation in Sierra Sur, Oaxaca, Mexico

Oribatid mites and springtails from a coffee plantation in Sierra Sur, Oaxaca, Mexico

Agroenergy Crops Influence the Diversity, Biomass, and Guild Structure of Terrestrial Arthropod Communities

In-field rates of decomposition and microbial communities colonizing residues vary by depth of residue placement and plant part, but not by crop genotype for residues from two Cry1Ab Bt corn hybrids and their non-transgenic isolines

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