Soil invertebrate communities as indicator of ecological conservation status of some fertilised grasslands from Romania

Manu, Minodora; Băncilă, Raluca I.; Mountford, Owen J.; Onete, Marilena. 2022 Soil invertebrate communities as indicator of ecological conservation status of some fertilised grasslands from Romania [in special issue: Soil fauna diversity under global change] Diversity, 14 (12), 1031. 14, pp. https://doi.org/10.3390/d14121031

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d14121031

Abstract/Summary

Quantification of soil biological status, through investigation of edaphic communities’ composition, constitutes an important factor for the assessment of the grassland ecosystems, including their protection. The structure of soil invertebrate communities was investigated for five grasslands under different chemical and organic treatments, for the first time in Romania. In order to accomplish this task, some structural parameters were quantified: numerical abundance, taxa richness, Shannon diversity index of taxa and equitability. We demonstrated the relationship between five environmental factors (vegetation coverage, soil temperature, soil acidity, soil resistance at penetration, soil moisture content) and the community structures of soil fauna. In total, 17 invertebrate groups were identified with a total numerical abundance of 14,953 individuals. Considering the numerical abundance, the dominant taxa were Acaridae, Collembola, Oribatida and Mesostigmata, the least dominant being Coleoptera, Opiliones and Araneae. In spatial dynamics the investigated plots were characterised specifically by soil invertebrates’ communities’ structures, highlighted by the varied values of structural parameters: by indicator taxa and by the characteristic average values of environmental parameters. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that the most important environment parameters influencing the soil taxa were vegetation coverage (especially on Acaridae, Glycyphagidae and Formicoidea) and soil resistance at penetration (Nematoda and Coleoptera). This study constitutes a scientific argument for the usage of soil invertebrate communities as indicators of the ecological conservation status of some fertilised grasslands.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.3390/d14121031
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	UKCEH Fellows
ISSN:	1424-2818
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	abiotic, arthropods, biotic, environment, fertilisation, soil
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	31 Dec 2022 17:32 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/533798

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.3390/d14121031

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

UKCEH Fellows

ISSN:

1424-2818

Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:

Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.

Additional Keywords:

abiotic, arthropods, biotic, environment, fertilisation, soil