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Daniil I. Korobushkin - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Influence of Seabird Colonies on Soil Macrofauna Communities at the Black Sea Coast Forests
Russian Journal of Ecology, 2019Co-Authors: Daniil I. Korobushkin, R. A. SaifutdinovAbstract:A seabird (Phalacrocorax carbo) colony overwintering for three consecutive years in a pine forest near the Black Sea coast caused severe damage to the vegetation. The impact of excessive nutrients input from this colony increased Soil acidity, N, P, Cu and S-content in Soil and might therefore affect Soil Macrofauna. We compared the abundance of main functional trait guilds and the total abundance of Soil Macrofauna within impact and control pine forests. No significant difference between the sites was noted in taxonomic richness, total Macrofauna abundance and abundance of mobile, belowground, phytophagous and predatory invertebrates. However, the abundance of poorly mobile, poorly mobile epibiontic, and these both traits of saprophagous Macrofauna guilds was significantly higher in the control sites. We conclude that three-year wintering of a seabird colony in forest can lead to drastic changes in the Macrofauna communities structure due to allochthonous input of nutrients.
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Mechanisms of Soil Macrofauna community sustainability in temperate rice-growing systems.
Scientific reports, 2019Co-Authors: Daniil I. Korobushkin, Konstantin B. Gongalsky, Anastasia Yu. Gorbunova, Dmitry M. Palatov, S. V. Shekhovtsov, Andrei V. Tanasevitch, Julia S. Volkova, Sanal N. Chimidov, Elvira B. Dedova, Valery A. LadatkoAbstract:Rice growing requires highly destructive and highly invasive field management negatively affecting Soil biota and its functions. We aimed to compare taxonomic and functional trait compositions of Soil Macrofauna at different stages of rice cropping cycles in the three temperate rice-growing regions in Russia. Samples were collected in 2016 at four different biotopes in each region: flooded rice paddies; upland crops planted one year after flooded rice; rice paddy bunds; and relatively undisturbed seminatural control grasslands. Collected Soil Macrofauna were allocated to different traits according to their feeding preferences, vertical distribution, mobility and flood tolerance. The lowest Macrofaunal abundance across all regions was observed in rice paddies. Cultivation of upland crops after paddy flooding consistently decreased the abundance of resident Macrofauna, but not that of mobile Soil Macrofauna. In the upland crops, the abundance of belowground and mobile belowground Macrofauna was significantly higher than that in control grasslands. The abundance of aboveground phytophages was significantly lower in the upland crops than in control sites. Flood-associated taxa showed low colonization ability after the paddies were drained. In contrast, representatives of other traits recorded in flooded fields increased their abundance at the next stage of crop rotation, demonstrating high resilience within an entire rice-growing system, including bunds. This finding indicates a high potential of seminatural grasslands and especially bunds as sources of rapid restoration of Soil Macrofauna functional diversity in rice-growing agroecosystems, thus maintaining the sustainability of Soil food webs in the rice paddies.
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Trait-specific response of Soil Macrofauna to forest burning along a macrogeographic gradient
Applied Soil Ecology, 2017Co-Authors: Daniil I. Korobushkin, A. Yu. Gorbunova, Andrey S. Zaitsev, Konstantin B. GongalskyAbstract:Abstract Fires change physical, chemical and biotic conditions of forest ecosystems. They also strongly affect Soil Macrofauna including key Soil ecosystem engineers and regulators of Soil-related processes in forest Soils. However, due to a wide range of traits attributable to macroinvertebrates, the effect of forest burning on the Macrofauna can be quite contrasting and still has not been quantified. We assessed the impact of forest fires on Macrofauna taxonomic richness, abundance, total biomass and biomass of animals belonging to different functional traits in 20 forests burnt five years ago and 20 respective controls plots along a 3000-km-long north-south transect in European Russia which covered five major forest biomes (Mediterranean and broadleaved forests, southern, middle, and northern taiga). Actual abundance, biomass and taxonomic diversity of the Soil Macrofauna showed remarkable stability after burning and were specific to forest biome. However, Soil Macrofauna trait composition was consistently affected by fire. Relatively immobile taxa inhabiting top of the forest floor and sharing saprophagy suffer most from the consequences of fire five years after burning. We have concluded that resident groups of Soil Macrofauna sharing saprophagy seem to avoid top Soil as one of the most damaged “frontiers” of the burnt Soil ecosystem possibly due to both unfavorable hydroclimatic conditions in the burnt patches and lack of suitable resources. At the same time damaged Soil surface creates a barrier in the way of the resident Soil macroinvertebrate taxa distribution due to their inability to quickly transit patches with harsh conditions.
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Forest fires increase variability of Soil Macrofauna communities along a macrogeographic gradient.
European Journal of Soil Biology, 2017Co-Authors: A. Yu. Gorbunova, Daniil I. Korobushkin, Andrey S. Zaitsev, Konstantin B. GongalskyAbstract:Abstract We assessed the impact of forest fires on Macrofauna taxonomic richness, abundance and total biomass in 20 forests burnt five years ago and 20 respective control plots along a 3000-km-long north-south transect in European Russia that covered five major forest types (Mediterranean and broadleaved forests, southern, middle, and northern taiga). In parallel we assessed basic Soil abiotic parameters in these stands. Within forest type, the spatial variance of Macrofauna total biomass was 1.8 times higher in the burnt forests than in the controls. Due to this increase of variance in the burnt forests, the main effect of forest type on Soil Macrofauna parameters was generally weaker. Among different Soil abiotic parameters, higher level of uniformity of Macrofaunal community parameters between different forest types was explained by the labile P and N content in the Soil, water-holding capacity and Soil moisture. Presence of open areas within the burnt forests seems to be the leading driver of the increased similarity of Soil Macrofauna communities across different forest types. Forest fires thus act as a powerful force that raises within-forest-type Soil macroinvertebrate beta-diversity and associated biomass fluctuations. At the same time burning reduces Soil Macrofauna gamma-diversity due to increased faunistic similarity between different forest types. This has potentially important implications for the functioning of Soil macroinvertebate communities in the pyrogenic forests and its dependency on macroclimatic conditions.
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Isotopic niche (δ13С and δ15N values) of Soil Macrofauna in temperate forests
Rapid communications in mass spectrometry : RCM, 2014Co-Authors: Daniil I. Korobushkin, Konstantin B. Gongalsky, Alexei V. TiunovAbstract:RATIONALE Stable isotope analysis (SIA) is used widely for reconstructing trophic links of vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Soil Macrofauna form a substantial food source for a range of predators including amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. SIA-based estimations of their trophic niches require knowledge on the full range of isotopic signatures of potential preys. Considering the extremely high diversity of Soil animals, this information is not easy to obtain. METHODS We estimated a typical range of the isotopic signatures of Soil Macrofauna by compiling published and original data on Soil macroinvertebrates in 11 temperate forests. We examined whether the baseline correction (i.e. subtracting δ13C or δ15N values of local litter) would decrease the between-site variability in the δ13C and δ15N values of Soil animals. The dataset was subsequently used to estimate the frequency distribution of δ13C and δ15N values in saprophagous and predatory Soil animals. RESULTS The baseline correction reduced the between-site variability in δ15N, but not in δ13C values of Soil animals. Over 95% of the taxa or individuals examined fell into an isotopic space with uncorrected δ13С values ranging from −27.9 to −22.5‰, and litter-normalized δ15N values from 0.8 to 9.6‰. Saprophagous and predatory Soil animals were on average enriched in 13C relative to plant litter by 3.5 and 2.7‰, respectively, which is likely to reflect the importance of saprotrophic microorganisms as the main energy source in Soil food webs. The difference in δ15N values between saprophages and predators averaged 2.8‰, which fits the anticipated trophic enrichment per trophic level. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that the range of possible δ15N values of Soil Macrofauna in temperate forest ecosystems can roughly be predicted based on the δ15N values of plant litter. On the other hand, no site-specific normalization is usually required when predicting the range of δ13C values of Soil macroinvertebrates. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Valery A. Ladatko - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Mechanisms of Soil Macrofauna community sustainability in temperate rice-growing systems.
Scientific reports, 2019Co-Authors: Daniil I. Korobushkin, Konstantin B. Gongalsky, Anastasia Yu. Gorbunova, Dmitry M. Palatov, S. V. Shekhovtsov, Andrei V. Tanasevitch, Julia S. Volkova, Sanal N. Chimidov, Elvira B. Dedova, Valery A. LadatkoAbstract:Rice growing requires highly destructive and highly invasive field management negatively affecting Soil biota and its functions. We aimed to compare taxonomic and functional trait compositions of Soil Macrofauna at different stages of rice cropping cycles in the three temperate rice-growing regions in Russia. Samples were collected in 2016 at four different biotopes in each region: flooded rice paddies; upland crops planted one year after flooded rice; rice paddy bunds; and relatively undisturbed seminatural control grasslands. Collected Soil Macrofauna were allocated to different traits according to their feeding preferences, vertical distribution, mobility and flood tolerance. The lowest Macrofaunal abundance across all regions was observed in rice paddies. Cultivation of upland crops after paddy flooding consistently decreased the abundance of resident Macrofauna, but not that of mobile Soil Macrofauna. In the upland crops, the abundance of belowground and mobile belowground Macrofauna was significantly higher than that in control grasslands. The abundance of aboveground phytophages was significantly lower in the upland crops than in control sites. Flood-associated taxa showed low colonization ability after the paddies were drained. In contrast, representatives of other traits recorded in flooded fields increased their abundance at the next stage of crop rotation, demonstrating high resilience within an entire rice-growing system, including bunds. This finding indicates a high potential of seminatural grasslands and especially bunds as sources of rapid restoration of Soil Macrofauna functional diversity in rice-growing agroecosystems, thus maintaining the sustainability of Soil food webs in the rice paddies.
João Luís Nunes Carvalho - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Soil Macrofauna Responses to Sugarcane Straw Removal for Bioenergy Production
BioEnergy Research, 2019Co-Authors: Lauren Maine Santos Menandro, Luana Oliveira Moraes, Clovis Daniel Borges, Maurício Roberto Cherubin, Guilherme Adalberto Castioni, João Luís Nunes CarvalhoAbstract:Sugarcane ( Saccharum officinarum ) residue (straw) has been identified as a promising feedstock for bioenergy production, but excessive straw removal may impair Soil Macrofauna and related ecosystem services. To quantify straw removal effects on abundance, richness, and diversity of Soil Macrofauna, four experiments were conducted in São Paulo state, Brazil, under different edaphoclimatic conditions. A secondary goal was to evaluate seasonal changes on Soil Macrofauna and identify linkages between those changes and Soil chemical and physical attributes. Four straw removal treatments (NR, no removal, LR, low removal, HR, high removal, and TR, total removal) were evaluated. Macrofauna and other Soil attributes were sampled within the 0- to 0.30-m depth increment. Soil Macrofauna were impaired by TR with the magnitude of response being related to both edaphoclimatic conditions and management practices. Numerous interactions among seasons, straw removal rates, and Soil Macrofauna were found, especially for total abundance and diversity of organisms. Partial straw removal (HR and LR) may be a strategy to protect Soil health and increase bioenergy production with minimal effects on Soil Macrofauna, although long-term experiments are needed to confirm our hypothesis. The NR treatment generally had better Soil quality as indicated by greater Soil moisture, macropore number, Soil organic carbon (SOC) content, and Soil fertility, which led to a higher abundance of most Macrofauna organisms. Total removal resulted in greater Soil compaction and decreased Macrofauna abundance, especially in clay Soils. Our findings confirm that an integrated approach using Soil indicators as guidelines should be adopted to better predict sustainable straw management practices for sugarcane in Brazil.
Jean-pierre Rossi - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Spatial patterns of grasses influence Soil Macrofauna biodiversity in Amazonian pastures
Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2009Co-Authors: Jérôme Mathieu, Patrick Lavelle, Michel Grimaldi, Pascal Jouquet, Corinne Rouland-lefèvre, Thierry Desjardins, Jean-pierre RossiAbstract:Grasslands are often characterized by small-scale spatial heterogeneity due to the juxtaposition of grass tufts and bare ground. Although the mechanisms generating plant spatial patterns have been widely studied, few studies concentrated on the consequences of these patterns on belowground Macrofauna. Our objective was to analyze the impact of grass tuft (Brachiaria bryzantha cv. marandu) spatial distribution on Soil Macrofauna diversity in Amazonian pastures, at a small scale (less than 9 m2). Soil Macrofauna was sampled among B. bryzantha tufts, which showed a variable spatial distribution ranging from dense to loose vegetation cover. The vegetation configuration explained 69% of the variation in total Soil Macrofauna density and 68% of the variation in total species richness. Soil Macrofauna was mainly found in the upper 10 cm of Soil and biodiversity decreased with increasing distances to the nearest grass tuft and increased with increasing vegetation cover. The size of the largest grass tuft and the microlandscape connectivity also had a significant effect on biodiversity. The density and species richness of the three principal Soil ecological engineers (earthworms, ants and termites) showed the best correlations with vegetation configuration. In addition, Soil temperature significantly decreased near the plants, while Soil water content was not influenced by the grass tufts. We conclude that Soil Macrofauna diversity is low in pastures except close to the grass tufts, which can thus be considered as biodiversity hotspots. The spatial arrangement of B. bryzantha tussocks influences Soil Macrofauna biodiversity by modifying Soil properties in their vicinity. The possible mechanisms by which these plants could affect Soil Macrofauna are discussed.
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Recovery of Soil Macrofauna Communities after Forest Clearance in Eastern Amazonia, Brazil
Conservation Biology, 2005Co-Authors: Jérôme Mathieu, Jean-pierre Rossi, Philippe Mora, Patrick Lavelle, P. F. Da S. Martins, C. Rouland, Michel GrimaldiAbstract:As primary forest is cleared, pastures and secondary forest occupy an increasing space in the Ama- zonian landscape. We evaluated the effect of forest clearing on a Soil Macrofauna (invertebrate) community in a smallholder farming system of southeastern Amazonia. We sampled the Soil Macrofauna in 22 plots of forest, upland rice fields, pastures, and fallows of different ages. In total, we collected 10,728 invertebrates. In cleared plots the species richness per plot of the Soil Macrofauna fell from 76 to 30 species per plot immediately after forest clearance, and the composition of the new community was different. Ants, termites, and spiders were most affected by the disturbance. In plots deforested several years before, the effect of forest clearance was highly dependent on the type of land use (pasture or fallow). In fallows, the community was similar to the initial state. The species richness per plot in old fallows rose to 66, and the composition was closer to the primary forests than to the other types of land use. On the contrary, in the pastures the species richness per plot remained low at 47. In fallows, all the groups showed a richness close to that in primary forest, whereas in the forest only the richness of earthworms and Coleoptera recovered. Our results show that forest clearing constitutes a major disturbance for the Soil Macrofauna and that the recovery potential of the Soil Macrofauna after 6 or 7 years is much higher in fallows than in pastures. Thus, fallows may play a crucial role in the conservation of Soil Macrofauna.
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Seasonal and land-use induced variations of Soil Macrofauna composition in the Western Ghats, southern India
Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2005Co-Authors: Jean-pierre Rossi, Eric BlanchartAbstract:Soil Macrofauna was surveyed in six sites characterised by different vegetation types on five occasions in the Western Ghats, India. Sampling sites included a primary forest, a weakly disturbed forest (slightly logged in the past), a highly disturbed forest (intensively logged), an Acacia auriculiformis plantation (8 years old), a pasture with high density of Phoenix humilis and a pasture without P. humilis. We showed that both land management and temporal variability induced significant changes in the Soil Macrofauna. Forest sites hosted larger densities of Soil macroorganisms. The effect of seasons was apparent as some clear modifications in the fauna composition occurred. Some groups like earthwonns mainly exhibited temporal variability whereas others like millipedes were chiefly affected by land management options. The seasonal rhythms of Soil Macrofauna were poorly expressed in the pasture plots and the Acacia plantation, but were particularly clear in the forest sites. This interaction between land management and temporal patterns may be explained by some changes in the species composition associated with certain land-uses. Our approach was based on a between-within classes PCA that proved particularly useful by providing statistical tests and a hierarchy of land management and temporal rhythm effects
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A multi-scale study of Soil Macrofauna biodiversity in Amazonian pastures
Biology and Fertility of Soils, 2004Co-Authors: Jérôme Mathieu, Jean-pierre Rossi, Philippe Mora, Patrick Lavelle, Michel Grimaldi, C. RoulandAbstract:The influence of three spatially hierarchical factors upon Soil Macrofauna biodiversity was studied in four pasture plots in eastern Amazonia. The first factor was the local depth of the Soil. The second factor was the ground cover type on the Soil samples (bare ground, grass tufts, dead trees lying on the ground). The third factor was the dimensions of the grass tufts sampled (size and shape). The effect of each factor upon the morphospecies richness and density of total Soil Macrofauna was analysed. Detailed results are given for earthworms, termites, ants, beetles and spiders. All factors significantly affected the morphospecies richness and/or density of the Soil Macrofauna. The type of ground cover had the strongest influence, affecting the total richness and density of the Soil Macrofauna and of almost all the groups represented. The Soil depth affected only the density of the termites and the global morphospecies richness. Interactions between Soil depth and ground cover type affected the total Macrofauna morphospecies richness and the density of the earthworms. The dimensions of the grass tuft influenced the global morphospecies richness, the morphospecies richness of the ants and the density of the spiders.
Konstantin B. Gongalsky - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Mechanisms of Soil Macrofauna community sustainability in temperate rice-growing systems.
Scientific reports, 2019Co-Authors: Daniil I. Korobushkin, Konstantin B. Gongalsky, Anastasia Yu. Gorbunova, Dmitry M. Palatov, S. V. Shekhovtsov, Andrei V. Tanasevitch, Julia S. Volkova, Sanal N. Chimidov, Elvira B. Dedova, Valery A. LadatkoAbstract:Rice growing requires highly destructive and highly invasive field management negatively affecting Soil biota and its functions. We aimed to compare taxonomic and functional trait compositions of Soil Macrofauna at different stages of rice cropping cycles in the three temperate rice-growing regions in Russia. Samples were collected in 2016 at four different biotopes in each region: flooded rice paddies; upland crops planted one year after flooded rice; rice paddy bunds; and relatively undisturbed seminatural control grasslands. Collected Soil Macrofauna were allocated to different traits according to their feeding preferences, vertical distribution, mobility and flood tolerance. The lowest Macrofaunal abundance across all regions was observed in rice paddies. Cultivation of upland crops after paddy flooding consistently decreased the abundance of resident Macrofauna, but not that of mobile Soil Macrofauna. In the upland crops, the abundance of belowground and mobile belowground Macrofauna was significantly higher than that in control grasslands. The abundance of aboveground phytophages was significantly lower in the upland crops than in control sites. Flood-associated taxa showed low colonization ability after the paddies were drained. In contrast, representatives of other traits recorded in flooded fields increased their abundance at the next stage of crop rotation, demonstrating high resilience within an entire rice-growing system, including bunds. This finding indicates a high potential of seminatural grasslands and especially bunds as sources of rapid restoration of Soil Macrofauna functional diversity in rice-growing agroecosystems, thus maintaining the sustainability of Soil food webs in the rice paddies.
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Trait-specific response of Soil Macrofauna to forest burning along a macrogeographic gradient
Applied Soil Ecology, 2017Co-Authors: Daniil I. Korobushkin, A. Yu. Gorbunova, Andrey S. Zaitsev, Konstantin B. GongalskyAbstract:Abstract Fires change physical, chemical and biotic conditions of forest ecosystems. They also strongly affect Soil Macrofauna including key Soil ecosystem engineers and regulators of Soil-related processes in forest Soils. However, due to a wide range of traits attributable to macroinvertebrates, the effect of forest burning on the Macrofauna can be quite contrasting and still has not been quantified. We assessed the impact of forest fires on Macrofauna taxonomic richness, abundance, total biomass and biomass of animals belonging to different functional traits in 20 forests burnt five years ago and 20 respective controls plots along a 3000-km-long north-south transect in European Russia which covered five major forest biomes (Mediterranean and broadleaved forests, southern, middle, and northern taiga). Actual abundance, biomass and taxonomic diversity of the Soil Macrofauna showed remarkable stability after burning and were specific to forest biome. However, Soil Macrofauna trait composition was consistently affected by fire. Relatively immobile taxa inhabiting top of the forest floor and sharing saprophagy suffer most from the consequences of fire five years after burning. We have concluded that resident groups of Soil Macrofauna sharing saprophagy seem to avoid top Soil as one of the most damaged “frontiers” of the burnt Soil ecosystem possibly due to both unfavorable hydroclimatic conditions in the burnt patches and lack of suitable resources. At the same time damaged Soil surface creates a barrier in the way of the resident Soil macroinvertebrate taxa distribution due to their inability to quickly transit patches with harsh conditions.
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Forest fires increase variability of Soil Macrofauna communities along a macrogeographic gradient.
European Journal of Soil Biology, 2017Co-Authors: A. Yu. Gorbunova, Daniil I. Korobushkin, Andrey S. Zaitsev, Konstantin B. GongalskyAbstract:Abstract We assessed the impact of forest fires on Macrofauna taxonomic richness, abundance and total biomass in 20 forests burnt five years ago and 20 respective control plots along a 3000-km-long north-south transect in European Russia that covered five major forest types (Mediterranean and broadleaved forests, southern, middle, and northern taiga). In parallel we assessed basic Soil abiotic parameters in these stands. Within forest type, the spatial variance of Macrofauna total biomass was 1.8 times higher in the burnt forests than in the controls. Due to this increase of variance in the burnt forests, the main effect of forest type on Soil Macrofauna parameters was generally weaker. Among different Soil abiotic parameters, higher level of uniformity of Macrofaunal community parameters between different forest types was explained by the labile P and N content in the Soil, water-holding capacity and Soil moisture. Presence of open areas within the burnt forests seems to be the leading driver of the increased similarity of Soil Macrofauna communities across different forest types. Forest fires thus act as a powerful force that raises within-forest-type Soil macroinvertebrate beta-diversity and associated biomass fluctuations. At the same time burning reduces Soil Macrofauna gamma-diversity due to increased faunistic similarity between different forest types. This has potentially important implications for the functioning of Soil macroinvertebate communities in the pyrogenic forests and its dependency on macroclimatic conditions.
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Soil Macrofauna of the south of Kunashir Island (Kuril Islands, Russia).
Doklady biological sciences : proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR Biological sciences sections, 2014Co-Authors: Konstantin B. Gongalsky, D. M. Kuznetsova, Alexey Elagin, S. A. Malyavin, Andrey S. ZaitsevAbstract:Study of the Soil biota organization under the con� ditions of minimal human influence in different Soil types is one of the most important tasks for both fun� damental and applied Soil biology. When developing the concept of the zoological method of Soil diagnos� tics, Gilyarov [6] considered the taxonomic diversity and the number of species of the Soil Macrofauna as the main parameters, characterizing Soil types and Soil differences. Soils of the Russian Far East were studied not so thoroughly. Notwithstanding considerably
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Isotopic niche (δ13С and δ15N values) of Soil Macrofauna in temperate forests
Rapid communications in mass spectrometry : RCM, 2014Co-Authors: Daniil I. Korobushkin, Konstantin B. Gongalsky, Alexei V. TiunovAbstract:RATIONALE Stable isotope analysis (SIA) is used widely for reconstructing trophic links of vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Soil Macrofauna form a substantial food source for a range of predators including amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. SIA-based estimations of their trophic niches require knowledge on the full range of isotopic signatures of potential preys. Considering the extremely high diversity of Soil animals, this information is not easy to obtain. METHODS We estimated a typical range of the isotopic signatures of Soil Macrofauna by compiling published and original data on Soil macroinvertebrates in 11 temperate forests. We examined whether the baseline correction (i.e. subtracting δ13C or δ15N values of local litter) would decrease the between-site variability in the δ13C and δ15N values of Soil animals. The dataset was subsequently used to estimate the frequency distribution of δ13C and δ15N values in saprophagous and predatory Soil animals. RESULTS The baseline correction reduced the between-site variability in δ15N, but not in δ13C values of Soil animals. Over 95% of the taxa or individuals examined fell into an isotopic space with uncorrected δ13С values ranging from −27.9 to −22.5‰, and litter-normalized δ15N values from 0.8 to 9.6‰. Saprophagous and predatory Soil animals were on average enriched in 13C relative to plant litter by 3.5 and 2.7‰, respectively, which is likely to reflect the importance of saprotrophic microorganisms as the main energy source in Soil food webs. The difference in δ15N values between saprophages and predators averaged 2.8‰, which fits the anticipated trophic enrichment per trophic level. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that the range of possible δ15N values of Soil Macrofauna in temperate forest ecosystems can roughly be predicted based on the δ15N values of plant litter. On the other hand, no site-specific normalization is usually required when predicting the range of δ13C values of Soil macroinvertebrates. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.