Detritus-filled crotches - an overlooked tree-related microhabitat in Central Europe

In the field of biodiversity research, tree-related microhabitats in the temperate zone have received substantial interest in the last decade, but one particular microhabitat type, crown microsoils in tree crotches, has largely escaped the attention of scientists. We present a study from Central Eur...

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Main Authors: Malte WEBER, Gerhard ZOTZ
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Science 2024-01-01
Series:European Journal of Entomology
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Online Access:https://www.eje.cz/artkey/eje-202401-0005_detritus-filled_crotches_-_an_overlooked_tree-related_microhabitat_in_central_europe.php
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author Malte WEBER
Gerhard ZOTZ
author_facet Malte WEBER
Gerhard ZOTZ
author_sort Malte WEBER
collection DOAJ
description In the field of biodiversity research, tree-related microhabitats in the temperate zone have received substantial interest in the last decade, but one particular microhabitat type, crown microsoils in tree crotches, has largely escaped the attention of scientists. We present a study from Central Europe that focused on the meso- and macrofauna in this microhabitat type. In twelve crotches we found more than 3000 individual animals out of 14 orders, encompassing all major elements of the terrestrial soil decomposer food web. Collembola accounted for more than 50% of the total. As expected, taxon richness correlated with habitat size. We conclude that this is an ideal natural system to study fundamental ecological questions of faunal community assembly.
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publisher Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Science
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spelling doaj-art-6c8f4b1a7ca740efbd8d52a89a21c2f02024-12-16T15:30:55ZengInstitute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of ScienceEuropean Journal of Entomology1210-57591802-88292024-01-011211313610.14411/eje.2024.005eje-202401-0005Detritus-filled crotches - an overlooked tree-related microhabitat in Central EuropeMalte WEBER0Gerhard ZOTZ1Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Institute for Biology and Environmental Sciences, Functional Ecology of Plants, Box 2503, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany; e-mails: malte.lennart.weber@uni-oldenburg.de, gerhard.zotz@uni-oldenburg.deCarl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Institute for Biology and Environmental Sciences, Functional Ecology of Plants, Box 2503, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany; e-mails: malte.lennart.weber@uni-oldenburg.de, gerhard.zotz@uni-oldenburg.deIn the field of biodiversity research, tree-related microhabitats in the temperate zone have received substantial interest in the last decade, but one particular microhabitat type, crown microsoils in tree crotches, has largely escaped the attention of scientists. We present a study from Central Europe that focused on the meso- and macrofauna in this microhabitat type. In twelve crotches we found more than 3000 individual animals out of 14 orders, encompassing all major elements of the terrestrial soil decomposer food web. Collembola accounted for more than 50% of the total. As expected, taxon richness correlated with habitat size. We conclude that this is an ideal natural system to study fundamental ecological questions of faunal community assembly.https://www.eje.cz/artkey/eje-202401-0005_detritus-filled_crotches_-_an_overlooked_tree-related_microhabitat_in_central_europe.phpfoundation speciesarthropodscrown microsoilbiodiversitycontainer habitatstree architecturefacilitation
spellingShingle Malte WEBER
Gerhard ZOTZ
Detritus-filled crotches - an overlooked tree-related microhabitat in Central Europe
European Journal of Entomology
foundation species
arthropods
crown microsoil
biodiversity
container habitats
tree architecture
facilitation
title Detritus-filled crotches - an overlooked tree-related microhabitat in Central Europe
title_full Detritus-filled crotches - an overlooked tree-related microhabitat in Central Europe
title_fullStr Detritus-filled crotches - an overlooked tree-related microhabitat in Central Europe
title_full_unstemmed Detritus-filled crotches - an overlooked tree-related microhabitat in Central Europe
title_short Detritus-filled crotches - an overlooked tree-related microhabitat in Central Europe
title_sort detritus filled crotches an overlooked tree related microhabitat in central europe
topic foundation species
arthropods
crown microsoil
biodiversity
container habitats
tree architecture
facilitation
url https://www.eje.cz/artkey/eje-202401-0005_detritus-filled_crotches_-_an_overlooked_tree-related_microhabitat_in_central_europe.php
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