Driving mechanisms of taxonomic and functional community composition of Collembola during subalpine succession
Plant succession dramatically alters both aboveground vegetation and belowground conditions, impacting the organisms residing in the soil. However, the extent to which the taxonomic and functional community composition of soil animals is shaped by the same biotic and environmental factors and their...
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Geoderma |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706124003859 |
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| author | Yan Zhang Ajuan Zhang Zheng Zhou Ting-Wen Chen Xueyong Pang Stefan Scheu |
| author_facet | Yan Zhang Ajuan Zhang Zheng Zhou Ting-Wen Chen Xueyong Pang Stefan Scheu |
| author_sort | Yan Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plant succession dramatically alters both aboveground vegetation and belowground conditions, impacting the organisms residing in the soil. However, the extent to which the taxonomic and functional community composition of soil animals is shaped by the same biotic and environmental factors and their relative importance remains unclear. Here, we considered plant community characteristics, abiotic soil factors, and food-web factors as potential drivers for the taxonomic and functional community composition (based on life forms) of Collembola during plant succession in the subalpine region of southwest China. Our results show that Collembola abundance and richness were lower in grassland, shrubland, and primary forest compared to secondary forest (birch forest). Temperature and moisture were identified as pivotal factors influencing Collembola fitness in grassland, while soil pH was a key factor in primary forest. Overall, abiotic soil factors (i.e., pH, C/N, and temperature), played predominant roles in shaping both the taxonomic and functional community composition of Collembola. Plant community characteristics (i.e., plant richness and litter biomass) were subdominant drivers in structuring functional community composition. By contrast, food-web factors (i.e., fungal biomass and fungi-to-bacteria ratio as bottom-up factors, and predatory mites as top-down factor) exerted a minor impact. Further, functional community composition was generally more closely related to variations in soil abiotic factors and plant community traits than taxonomic community composition. These findings highlight the priority importance of soil abiotic factors over plant community characteristics and food web factors in structuring soil mesofauna communities and emphasize the importance of trait-based approaches for understanding the mechanisms underlying soil animal communities. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-068b206fb1464270ab66c3df4a9d815a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1872-6259 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Geoderma |
| spelling | doaj-art-068b206fb1464270ab66c3df4a9d815a2025-01-10T04:36:47ZengElsevierGeoderma1872-62592025-01-01453117156Driving mechanisms of taxonomic and functional community composition of Collembola during subalpine successionYan Zhang0Ajuan Zhang1Zheng Zhou2Ting-Wen Chen3Xueyong Pang4Stefan Scheu5CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Maoxian Mountain Ecosystem Research Station, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 416, Chengdu 610041, China; Johann Friedrich Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Animal Ecology, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, GermanyCAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Maoxian Mountain Ecosystem Research Station, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 416, Chengdu 610041, ChinaJohann Friedrich Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Animal Ecology, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, GermanyJohann Friedrich Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Animal Ecology, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, GermanyCAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Maoxian Mountain Ecosystem Research Station, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 416, Chengdu 610041, China; Corresponding author.Johann Friedrich Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Animal Ecology, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, Germany; Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, GermanyPlant succession dramatically alters both aboveground vegetation and belowground conditions, impacting the organisms residing in the soil. However, the extent to which the taxonomic and functional community composition of soil animals is shaped by the same biotic and environmental factors and their relative importance remains unclear. Here, we considered plant community characteristics, abiotic soil factors, and food-web factors as potential drivers for the taxonomic and functional community composition (based on life forms) of Collembola during plant succession in the subalpine region of southwest China. Our results show that Collembola abundance and richness were lower in grassland, shrubland, and primary forest compared to secondary forest (birch forest). Temperature and moisture were identified as pivotal factors influencing Collembola fitness in grassland, while soil pH was a key factor in primary forest. Overall, abiotic soil factors (i.e., pH, C/N, and temperature), played predominant roles in shaping both the taxonomic and functional community composition of Collembola. Plant community characteristics (i.e., plant richness and litter biomass) were subdominant drivers in structuring functional community composition. By contrast, food-web factors (i.e., fungal biomass and fungi-to-bacteria ratio as bottom-up factors, and predatory mites as top-down factor) exerted a minor impact. Further, functional community composition was generally more closely related to variations in soil abiotic factors and plant community traits than taxonomic community composition. These findings highlight the priority importance of soil abiotic factors over plant community characteristics and food web factors in structuring soil mesofauna communities and emphasize the importance of trait-based approaches for understanding the mechanisms underlying soil animal communities.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706124003859MesofaunaCollembolanTaxonomic resolutionLife form |
| spellingShingle | Yan Zhang Ajuan Zhang Zheng Zhou Ting-Wen Chen Xueyong Pang Stefan Scheu Driving mechanisms of taxonomic and functional community composition of Collembola during subalpine succession Geoderma Mesofauna Collembolan Taxonomic resolution Life form |
| title | Driving mechanisms of taxonomic and functional community composition of Collembola during subalpine succession |
| title_full | Driving mechanisms of taxonomic and functional community composition of Collembola during subalpine succession |
| title_fullStr | Driving mechanisms of taxonomic and functional community composition of Collembola during subalpine succession |
| title_full_unstemmed | Driving mechanisms of taxonomic and functional community composition of Collembola during subalpine succession |
| title_short | Driving mechanisms of taxonomic and functional community composition of Collembola during subalpine succession |
| title_sort | driving mechanisms of taxonomic and functional community composition of collembola during subalpine succession |
| topic | Mesofauna Collembolan Taxonomic resolution Life form |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706124003859 |
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