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Diversity Changes in Soil Mesofauna (Springtails and Oribatid Mites) in the Subarctic (Abisko Swedish Lapland)

Entry ID: SOIL_INVERTEBRATES_ARCTIC_KRAB_IPY213_NL

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Summary

Abstract: Northern peatlands have been globally important accumulators of carbon as plant litter and older soil organic matter. As climate changes, the decomposition rates of these peatlands and consequently their soil respiration are likely to increase. In other words, CO2 emissions from northern peatlands might increase, giving feedback to global warming.
This change might be caused not only ... by higher metabolic rates due to temperature rise and effects of increased precipitation, but also by changes in the diversity of the microbial community and soil fauna, the actual decomposers.
The latter only contribute less than 10% to the total soil metabolism, but soil invertebrates have a great impact on the decomposition process. However the actual impact of soil mesofauna in subarctic peatlands has hardly been investigated.

This project deals with diversity changes in soil mesofauna (represented by springtails and oribatid mites) in the subarctic (Abisko Swedish Lapland). Does diversity change due to global warming? And if the diversity changes, what are the impacts on ecosystem processes such as decomposition? To answer these questions I study interactions between soil invertebrates and their substrate, dead plant material.
In one of my experiments, with MSc student Hilde Oorsprong, I study the vertical stratification of soil invertebrates in subarctic peatlands. In stratified peatlands, assemblages of soil fauna may have specific effects on the decomposition process dependent on their vertical distribution.
Therefore, to understand the function of soil biota on ecosystem processes such as decomposition, knowledge of factors determining the vertical stratification of these animals should be obtained.
It is known that many factors are responsible for the vertical stratification of soil fauna. The combined action of biotic factors such as quality of the substrate and abiotic factors such as temperature and humidity will determine their distribution. Here I hypothesise that it is mainly the litter quality that determines the distribution of meso- and microarthropods (including collembola) in the profile.
By turning peat moss cores upside-down, litter quality was reversed in the profile. Deeper litter layers will now be confronted with the abiotic factors that are present in more shallow litter layers and vice versa.

What is the consequence for the soil fauna that live in these moss cushions?
Will they migrate up or down in the upside-down profile, suggesting that quality is not the most important factor? Or will they stay where they originally were, indicating that litter quality is more important than temperature or humidity?

The results of this study will not only be important for predicting distribution changes of soil invertebrates due to environmental change, but by extrapolating these results we can get a better understanding of impacts of changes in temperature, moisture or litter quality on ecosystem processes such as decomposition.

Related URL

Link: GET DATA

Link: VIEW PROFESSIONAL HOME PAGE

Geographic Coverage

(Click for Interactive Map)

Spatial coordinates

	N: 68.35	S: 68.35	E: 18.82	W: 18.82
Min Altitude: 340M Max Altitude: 370M
Min Depth: 0 Max Depth: 0.09M

Data Set Citation

Dataset Originator/Creator: Eveline J. Krab

Dataset Title: Soil Invertebrates Arctic IPY 213 2008

Temporal Coverage

Start Date: 2007-05-15

Stop Date: 2007-08-05

Location Keywords

CONTINENT > EUROPE > NORTHERN EUROPE > SCANDINAVIA > SWEDEN

GEOGRAPHIC REGION > ARCTIC

GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR

Science Keywords

ATMOSPHERE > AEROSOLS > AEROSOL BACKSCATTER > AEROSOL BACKSCATTER CROSS SECTIONS

ATMOSPHERE > AEROSOLS > AEROSOL EXTINCTION

ISO Topic Category

CLIMATOLOGY/METEOROLOGY/ATMOSPHERE

IMAGERY/BASE MAPS/EARTH COVER

Platform

DC-8 > Douglas DC-8

Instrument

LIDAR > Light Detection and Ranging

VIRL > Visible and Near IR Lidar

Project

EOSDIS > Earth Observing System Data Information System

ESIP > Earth Science Information Partners Program

TOGA COARE > TOGA Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment

Ancillary Keywords

AEROSOL

AIR-SEA

Originating Center

GSFC_DAAC

Data Center

Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (formerly Goddard DAAC), Global Change Data Center, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA

Data Center URL: http://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Dataset ID: virl

Data Center Personnel
Name: GES DISC HELP DESK SUPPORT GROUP Phone: 301-614-5224 Fax: 301-614-5268 Email: gsfc-help-disc at lists.nasa.gov Contact Address: Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center Code 610.2 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center City: Greenbelt Province or State: MD Postal Code: 20771 Country: USA

Distribution

Distribution Media: On-line

Personnel

GES DISC HELP DESK SUPPORT GROUP

Role: TECHNICAL CONTACT

Phone: 301-614-5224

Fax: 301-614-5268

Email: gsfc-help-disc at lists.nasa.gov

Contact Address:

Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center

Code 610.2

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

City: Greenbelt

Province or State: MD

Postal Code: 20771

Country: USA

JAMES D. SPINHIRNE

Role: INVESTIGATOR

Phone: 301-614-6274

Email: James.D.Spinhirne at nasa.gov

Contact Address:

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Mailstop 613.1

City: Greenbelt

Province or State: MD

Postal Code: 20771

Country: USA

Publications/References

Spinhirne, J.D., S. Chudamani and J.F. Cavanaugh, 1991: Visible and
Near IR Lidar Backscatter Observations on the GLOBE Pacific Survey
Missions, Symposium on Meteorological Observations and Instrumentation
and Special Sessions on Laser Atmospheric Studies, J261-J264, American
Meteorological Society.

Spinhirne, J.D. and W.D. ...

Creation and Review Dates

Last DIF Revision Date: 2008-12-15

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