Global Change Master Directory (GCMD)

Data Sets

Services / Tools

Ancillary Descriptions

Are you using a browser that doesn't support JavaScript or have you disabled JavaScript?

If you have disabled JavaScript, you must re-enable JavaScript to use this page.
Or you can view this record using the Text Only Format.

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

Entry ID: SOIL_INVERTEBRATES_ARCTIC_KRAB_IPY213_NL

[ Get Data ]
[ Update this Record ]

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

AGRICULTURE > ANIMAL SCIENCE > ANIMAL ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR

BIOSPHERE > TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS > ALPINE/TUNDRA

BIOSPHERE > TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS > WETLANDS > PEATLANDS

ISO Topic Category

BIOTA

Platform

FIELD INVESTIGATION

Project

IPY > INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEAR

ENVISNAR > Environmental baselines, Impacts on people in the Nordic Arctic Regions

Quality Springtails were considered representative for the soil invertebrate community and were determined at species level.

Access Constraints N/A

Use Constraints Please contact Eva Krab for proper citation

Ancillary Keywords

Ecology

Tullgren Funnel Fauna Extractor

Data Set Progress

IN WORK

Originating Center

VU University Amsterdam, FALW, Systemsecology

Data Center

Netherlands National Polar Data Centre, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, Netherlands

Data Center URL: http://www.nioz.nl/dmg

Data Center Personnel
Name: IRA VAN DEN BROEK Phone: +31 222 369 420 Fax: +31 222 319 674 Email: ira.van.den.broek at nioz.nl Contact Address: P.O. Box 59 City: Den Burg Postal Code: 1790 AB Country: The Netherlands

Data Center Personnel
Name: TACO F. DE BRUIN Phone: +31-222-369 479 Fax: +31-222-319674 Email: bruin at nioz.nl Contact Address: P.O. Box 59 City: Den Burg Postal Code: 1790 AB Country: The Netherlands