Abstract
The soil is an important resource for several ecosystem and biosphere processes. Yet, soil biology is challenged with the identification of many and diverse species and to understand the specific role organisms play, how they are organized, and how they respond to changing environmental conditions. Within this context, there is no universal tool or method that can be applied to a comprehensive study of all the soil and litter fauna that can be found across all soil types and environmental conditions around the globe. Thus, the type of sampling system used for any soil investigation must be carefully planned as an integral part of the study. In this chapter, we review numerous techniques and approaches to evaluate and quantify the influences of soil and litter fauna and provide methodological considerations for ecological studies of soil fauna with emphasis on the study of the decomposition process. The study of soil ecology and health remains a relevant field of research. We hope this review of methodologies for the study of soil and litter fauna will help elucidate the most appropriate technique to use based on resources at hand, organism of interest, and habitat characteristics.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aerts R (1997) Climate, leaf litter chemistry and leaf litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: a triangular relationship. Oikos 79:439–449. https://doi.org/10.2307/3546886
Aira M, Monroy F, Dominguez J (2003) Effects of two species of earthworms (Allolobophora spp.) on soil systems: a microfaunal and biochemical analysis. Pedobiologia 47:877–881. https://doi.org/10.1078/0031-4056-00274
Anderson J (1975) The enigma of soil animal species diversity. In: Vaněk J (ed) Progress in soil zoology. Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 51–58
Anderson JM, Healey IN (1970) Improvements in the gelatine embedding technique for woodland soil and litter samples. Pedobiologia 10:108–120
André HM, Noti M-I, Lebrun P (1994) The soil fauna: the other last biotic frontier. Biodivers Conserv 3:45–56. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00115332
Andrén O, Bengtsson J, Clarholm M (1995) Biodiversity and species redundancy among litter decomposers. In: Collins HP, Robertson GP, Klug MJ (eds) The significance and regulation of soil biodiversity, Developments in plant and soil sciences, vol 63. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 141–151
Arce SM, Argue BJ, Thompson DA et al (2003) Evaluation of a fluorescent, alphanumeric tagging system for penaeid shrimp and its application in selective breeding programs. Aquaculture 228:267–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0044-8486(03)00267-9
Baermann G (1917) Eine einfache methode zur affindung von ankylostomum (Nematoden) Larven in erdproben. Meded. geneesk. Lab. Weltevr, pp 41–47
Barberena-Arias MF, González G, Cuevas E (2012) Quantifying variation of soil Arthropods using different sampling protocols: is diversity affected? Tropical Forests. p. 51–70. Sudarshana, P. Ed. ISBN: 978-953-51-0255-7. InTech
Bardgett RD, van der Putten WH (2014) Belowground biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Nature 515:505–511. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13855
Bardgett RD, Wardle DA (2010) Aboveground-belowground linkages: biotic interactions, ecosystem processes, and global change. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Bardgett RD, Bowman WD, Kaufmann R et al (2005) A temporal approach to linking aboveground and belowground ecology. Trends Ecol Evol 20:634–641. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2005.08.005
Barois I, Lavelle P (1986) Changes in respiration rate and some physicochemical properties of a tropical soil during transit through Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscolecidae, Oligochaeta). Soil Biol Biochem 18:539–541. https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-0717(86)90012-X
Bengtsson J (1998) Which species? What kind of diversity? Which ecosystem function? Some problems in studies of relations between biodiversity and ecosystem function. Appl Soil Ecol 10:191–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0929-1393(98)00120-6
Berlese A (1905) Apparecchio per raccogliere presto ed in gran numero piccoli artropodi. Redia 2:35–89
Besuchet C, Burckhardt DH, Löbl I (1987) The “Winkler/Moczarski’” eclector as an efficient extractor for fungus and litter Coleoptera. Coleopt Bull 41:392–394. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4008527
Blair JM, Crossley DA Jr, Rider S (1989) Effects of naphthalene on microbial activity and nitrogen pools in soil-litter microcosms. Soil Biol Biochem 21:507–510. https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-0717(89)90122-3
Blair JM, Bohlen PJ, Edwards CA et al (1995) Manipulations of earthworm populations in field experiments in agroecosystems. Acta Zool Fenn 196:48–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-0717(95)00025-A
Bohlen PJ, Pelletier DM, Groffman PM et al (2004) Influence of earthworm invasion on redistribution and retention of soil carbon and nitrogen in northern temperate forests. Ecosystems 7:13–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-003-0127-y
Bokhorst S, Wardle DA (2013) Microclimate within litter bags of different mesh size: implications for the ‘arthropod effect’ on litter decomposition. Soil Biol Biochem 58:147–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.12.001
Bradford MA, Tordoff GM, Eggers T et al (2002) Microbiota, fauna, and mesh size interactions in litter decomposition. Oikos 99:317–323. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.990212.x
Brennan KEC, Christie FJ, York A (2009) Global climate change and litter decomposition: more frequent fire slows decomposition and increases the functional importance of invertebrates. Glob Chang Biol 15:2958–2971. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2009.02011.x
Brown GR, Matthews IM (2016) A review of extensive variation in the design of pitfall traps and a proposal for a standard pitfall trap design for monitoring ground-active arthropod biodiversity. Ecol Evol 6:3953–3964. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2176
Brussaard L (1998) Soil fauna, guilds, functional groups and ecosystem processes. Appl Soil Ecol 9:123–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0929-1393(98)00066-3
Burtelow AE, Bohlen PJ, Groffman PM (1998) Influence of exotic earthworm invasion on soil organic matter, microbial biomass and denitrification potential in forest soils of the northeastern United States. Appl Soil Ecol 9:197–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0929-1393(98)00075-4
Carapelli A, Fanciulli PP, Frati F et al (1995) The use of genetic markers for the diagnosis of sibling species in the genus Isotomurus (Insecta, Collembola). Ital J Zool 62:71–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/11250009509356053
Coleman DC, Crossley DA, Ingham ER (1994) Use of sulfamethoxazole-penicillin, oxytetracycline, carbofuran, carbaryl, naphthalene and temik to remove key organism groups in soil in a corn agroecosystem. J Sustain Agr 4:7–30. https://doi.org/10.1300/J064v04n03_03
Coleman DC, Blair JM, Elliott ET et al (1999) Soil invertebrates. In: Robertson GP, Coleman DC, Bledsoe CS et al (eds) Standard soil methods for long-term ecological research. Network series. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 349–377
Coleman DC, Crossley DA Jr, Hendrix PF (2004) Fundamentals of soil ecology, 2nd edn. Elsevier Academic Press, Burlington, San Diego, London
Coppedge JR, Spencer JP, Brown HE et al (1979) A new dye marking technique for screwworm. J Econ Entomol 72:40–42. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/72.1.40
Cort WW, Ackert JE, Augustine DL, Payne FK (1922) Investigations on the control of hookworm disease. II. The description of an apparatus for isolating infective hookworm larvae from soil. Am. J. Hyg 2:1–16
Cotrufo MF, Soong J, Vandegehuchte ML et al (2014) Naphthalene addition to soil surfaces: a feasible method to reduce soil micro-arthropods with negligible direct effects on soil C dynamics. Appl Soil Ecol 74:21–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2013.09.008
Coyle DR, Nagendra UJ, Taylor MK et al (2017) Soil fauna responses to natural disturbances, invasive species, and global climate change: current state of the science and a call to action. Soil Biol Biochem 110:116–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2017.03.008
Crossley DA Jr, Blair JM (1991) A high-efficiency, low-technology Tullgren-type extractor for soil microarthropods. Agric Ecosyst Environ 34:187–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-8809(91)90104-6
Crossley DA Jr, Mueller BR, Perdue JC (1992) Biodiversity of microarthropods in agricultural soils: relations to processes. Agric Ecosyst Environ 40:37–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-8809(92)90082-M
Culliney TW (2013) Role of arthropods in maintaining soil fertility. Agriculture 3:629–659. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture3040629
Delsinne TD, Arias-Penna TM (2012) Influence of leaf litter moisture on the efficiency of the Winkler method for extracting ants. J Insect Sci 12:57. https://doi.org/10.1673/031.012.5701
Demelash K, Abebaw M, Negash A et al (2016) A review on diagnostic techniques in veterinary helminthology. Nat Sci 14:109–118. https://doi.org/10.7537/marsnsj140716.15
D’Haese CA (2013) Homology and morphology in Poduromorpha (Hexapoda, Collembola). Eur J Entomol 100:385–407. https://doi.org/10.14411/eje.2003.060
Didden W, Born H, Domm H et al (1995) The relative efficiency of wet funnel techniques for the extraction of Enchytraeidae. Pedobiologia 39:52–57
Dinaburg AG (1942) The efficiency of the Baermann apparatus in the recovery of larvae of Haemonchus contortus. J Parasitol 28:433–440. https://doi.org/10.2307/3272903
Doupé RG, Partridge GJ, Lymbery AJ (2003) Visible implant fluorescent elastomer tags as pedigree markers for applied aquaculture: an evaluation using black bream Acanthopagrus butcheri. Aquac Res 34:681–683. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2109.2003.00860.x
Edwards CA (1991) The assessment of populations of soil-inhabiting invertebrates. Agric Ecosyst Environ 34:145–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-8809(91)90102-4
Eisenhauer N, Antunes PM, Bennett AE et al (2017) Priorities for research in soil ecology. Pedobiologia 63:1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedobi.2017.05.003
Fletcher KE (1976) Studies on soil arthropods particularly in relation to population assessments. Dissertation, University of London
Froehlich HA, Miles DWR (1986) A freezing technique for sampling skeletal, structureless forest soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 50:1640–1642.
Frouz J, Roubíčková A, Heděnec P et al (2015) Do soil fauna really hasten litter decomposition? A meta-analysis of enclosure studies. Eur J Soil Biol 68:18–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejsobi.2015.03.002
Geurs M, Bongers J, Brussaard L (1991) Improvements of the heptane flotation method for collecting microarthropods from silt loam soil. Agric Ecosyst Environ 34:213–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-8809(91)90108-A
Gisin VH (1967) La systématique idéale. J Zool Syst Evol Res 5:111–128. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0469.1967.tb00903.x
Golley FB (ed) (1983) Ecosystems of the world, Tropical rain forest ecosystems: structure and functions, Part A, vol 14. Elsevier, Amsterdam
González G (2002) Soil organisms and litter decomposition. In: Ambasht RS, Ambasht NK (eds) Modern trends in applied terrestrial ecology. Springer, Boston, pp 315–329
González G, Seastedt TR (2001) Soil fauna and plant litter decomposition in tropical and subalpine forests. Ecology 82:955–964. https://doi.org/10.2307/2679895
González G, Seastedt TR, Donato Z (2003) Earthworms, arthropods and plant litter decomposition in aspen (Populus tremuloides) and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests in Colorado, USA. Pedobiologia 47:863–869. https://doi.org/10.1078/0031-4056-00272
González G, Espinoza E, Liu Z et al (2006) A fluorescent marking and re-count technique using the invasive earthworm, Pontoscolex corethrurus (Annelida: Oligochaeta). Caribb J Sci 42:371–379
Gorres JH, Savin MC, Amador JA (2001) Soil micropore structure and carbon mineralization in burrows and casts of an anecic earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris). Soil Biol Biochem 33:1881–1887. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(01)00068-2
Greenslade PJN (1985) Pterygote insects and the soil: their diversity, their effects on soils and the problem of species identification. Quaest Entomol 21:571–585
Gunn A (1992) The use of mustard to estimate earthworm populations. Pedobiologia 36:65–67
Haagsma KA, Rust MK (1993) Two marking dyes useful for monitoring field populations of Reticulitermes hesperus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). Sociobiology 23:155–164
Haarlov N, Weis-Fogh T (1953) A microscopical technique for studying the undisturbed texture of soils. Oikos 4:44–57. https://doi.org/10.2307/3565074
Heneghan L, Coleman D, Zou X et al (1998) Soil microarthropod community structure and litter decomposition dynamics: a study of tropical and temperate sites. Appl Soil Ecol 9:33–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0929-1393(98)00050-X
Holdhaus K (1910) Die Siebetechnik zum Aufsammeln der Terricolfauna. Zeitschrift für Wissenschaftliche Insektenbiologie 6:44–57
Hong NH, Rumpel C, Henry des Tureaux T et al (2011) How do earthworms influence organic matter quantity and quality in tropical soils? Soil Biol Biochem 43:223–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.09.033
Jordana R, Baquero E (2005) A proposal of characters for taxonomic identification of Entomobrya species (Collembola, Entomobryomorpha), with description of a new species. Abhandlungen und Berichte des Naturkundemuseums Görlitz 76:117–134
Kampichler C, Bruckner A (2009) The role of microarthropods in terrestrial decomposition: a meta-analysis of 40 years of litterbag studies. Biol Rev 84:375–389. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-185X.2009.00078.x
Lan L, Yang F, Zhang L et al (2019) Non-target effects of naphthalene on the soil microbial biomass and bacterial communities in the subalpine forests of Western China. Sci Rep 9:9811. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-46394-3
Lavelle P (1996) Diversity of soil fauna and ecosystem function. Biol Int 33
Lavelle P, Spain A (2001) Soil ecology. Springer Science & Business Media
Lavelle P, Melendez G, Pashanasi B et al (1992) Nitrogen mineralization and reorganization in casts of the geophagous tropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscolecidae). Biol Fertil Soils 14:49–53. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00336302
Lavelle P, Blanchart E, Martin A et al (1993) A hierarchical model for decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: application to soils of the humid tropics. Biotropica 25:130–150. https://doi.org/10.2307/2389178
Lecerf A (2017) Methods for estimating the effect of litterbag mesh size on decomposition. Ecol Model 362:65–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2017.08.011
Liu Y, Yang F, Yang W et al (2019) Effects of naphthalene on soil fauna abundance and enzyme activity in the subalpine forest of western Sichuan, China. Sci Rep 9:2849. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-39603-6
Luff ML (1975) Some features influencing the efficiency of pitfall traps. Oecologia 19:345–357. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00348110
Lussenhop J, Fogel R (1993) Observing soil biota in situ. Geoderma 56:25–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7061(93)90098-6
Macfadyen A (1953) Notes on methods for the extraction of small soil arthropods. J Anim Ecol 22:65–77. https://doi.org/10.2307/1691
Macfadyen A (1957) Animal ecology. Aims and methods. Isaac Pitman and Sons, London
Macfadyen A (1962) Soil arthropod sampling. In: Cragg JB (ed) Advances in ecological research, vol 1. Academic Press, London, pp 1–34
Mari Mutt JA (1976) Genera of Collembola (Insecta) in Puerto Rico: keys, diagnoses, and general comments. J Agr U Puerto Rico 60:113–128
May RM (1988) How many species are there on earth? Science 241:1441–1449. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.241.4872.1441
May RM (1990) How many species? Philos Trans R Soc B 330:293–304. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1990.0200
May RM (1994) Past efforts and future prospects towards understanding how many species there are. In: Solbrig OT, van Emden HM, van Oordt PGWJ (eds) Biodiversity and global change. CAB International in association with the International Union of Biological Sciences, Wallingford, pp 71–84
McClaugherty CA, Pastor J, Aber JD et al (1985) Forest litter decomposition in relation to soil nitrogen dynamics and litter quality. Ecology 66:266–275. https://doi.org/10.2307/1941327
Menta C, Remelli S (2020) Soil health and arthropods: from complex system to worthwhile investigation. Insects 11:54. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11010054
Milne A, Coggins RE, Laughlin R (1958) The determination of numbers of leatherjackets in sample turves. J Anim Ecol 27:125–145. https://doi.org/10.2307/2178
Moldenke AR (1994) Arthropods. In: Bottomley PJ, Angle JS, Weaver RW (eds) Methods of soil analysis, part 2: microbiological and biochemical properties, vol 5. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, pp 517–542
Moore JC, Walter DE, Hunt HW (1988) Arthropod regulation of micro–and mesobiota in below-ground detrital food webs. Annu Rev Entomol 33:419–439. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.en.33.010188.002223
Müller G (1962) A centrifugal-flotation extraction technique and its comparison with two funnel extractors. In: Murphy PW (ed) Progress in soil zoology. Butterworth’s, London, pp 207–211
Müller G, Naglitsch F (1957) Vergleichende prtifung bodenzoologischen auslesemethoden fur kleinarthropoden. Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik 85:177–210
Murphy PW (1962) Extraction methods for soil animals. I. Dynamic methods with particular reference to funnel processes. In: Murphy PW (ed) Progress in soil zoology. Butterworth’s, London, pp 75–114
Newell K, Frankland JC, Whittaker JB (1987) Effects on microflora of using naphthalene or X-rays to reduce arthropod populations in the field. Biol Fertil Soils 3:11–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00260572
Nicholas DP, Parkinson D (1967) A comparison of methods for assessing the amount of fungal mycelium in soil samples. Pedobiologia 7:23–41
O’Connor FB (1955) Extraction of enchytraeid worms from a coniferous forest soil. Nature 175:815–816. https://doi.org/10.1038/175815b0
Owens BE, Carlton CE (2015) “Berlese vs. Winkler”: comparison of two forest litter coleoptera extraction methods and the ECOLI (extraction of Coleoptera in litter) protocol. Coleopt Bull 69:645–661. https://doi.org/10.1649/0010-065X-69.4.645
Pande YD (1975) Scope of the gelatin-embedding technique for studying soil arthropod fauna, with particular reference to Oribatei. In: Vaněk J (ed) Progress in soil zoology. Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. Springer, Dordrecht
Parkin T, Berry EC (1999) Microbial nitrogen transformations in earthworm burrows. Soil Biol Biochem 31:1765–1771. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(99)00085-1
Ponge JF, Salmon S (2013) Spatial and taxonomic correlates of species and species trait assemblages in soil invertebrate communities. Pedobiologia 56:129–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedobi.2013.02.001
Potapov AA, Semenina EE, Korotkevich AY et al (2016) Connecting taxonomy and ecology: trophic niches of collembolans as related to taxonomic identity and life forms. Soil Biol Biochem 101:20–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2016.07.002
Rhea-Fournier D, González G (2017) Methodological considerations in the study of earthworms in forest ecosystems. In: Chakravarty S, Shukla G (eds) Forest ecology and conservation. InTech, Rijeka
Richardson BA, Richardson MJ, González G et al (2010) A canopy trimming experiment in Puerto Rico: the response of litter invertebrate communities to canopy loss and debris deposition in a tropical forest subject to hurricanes. Ecosystems 13:286–301. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-010-9317-6
Rusek J (1985) Soil microstructures-contributions on specific soil organisms. In: J. Spence (ed) Faunal influences on soil structure. Quaest Entomol 21:497–514
Rygiewicz PT, Miller SL, Durall DM (1988) A root-mycocosm for growing ectomycorrhizal hyphae apart from host roots while maintaining symbiotic integrity. Plant Soil 109:281–284. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02202096
Sakchoowong W, Nomura S, Ogata K et al (2007) Comparison of extraction efficiency between Winkler and Tullgren extractors for tropical leaf litter macroarthropods. Thai J Agric Sci 40:97–105
Seastedt T (1984) The role of microarthropods in decomposition and mineralization processes. Annu Rev Entomol 29:25–46. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.en.29.010184.000325
Soto-Adames FN (2002) Molecular phylogeny of the Puerto Rican Lepidocyrtus and Pseudosinella (Hexapoda: Collembola), a validation of Yoshii’s “color pattern species”. Mol Phylogenet Evol 25:27–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00250-6
Soto-Adames FN, Taylor SJ (2010) Status assessment survey for springtails (Collembola) in Illinois caves: the Salem Plateau. Illinois Natural History Survey Technical Report 13:1–76
Southwood TRE, Henderson PA (2000) Ecological methods, 3rd edn. Blackwell Science, Oxford
Staddon PL, Ostle N, Fitter AH (2003) Earthworm extraction by electroshocking does not affect canopy CO2 exchange, root respiration, mycorrhizal fungal abundance or mycorrhizal fungal vitality. Soil Biol Biochem 35:421–426. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(02)00293-6
Steffen GPK, Antoniolli ZI, Steffen RB et al (2013) Earthworm extraction with onion solution. Appl Soil Ecol 69:28–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2012.12.013
Stork NE (2018) How many species of insects and other terrestrial arthropods are there on earth? Annu Rev Entomol 63:31–45. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-020117-043348
Suárez E, Fahey T, Yavitt J et al (2006) Patterns of litter disappearance in a northern hardwood forest invaded by exotic earthworms. Ecol Appl 16:154–165. https://doi.org/10.1890/04-0788
Swift MJ, Heal OW, Anderson JM (1979) Decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. Studies in ecology, vol 5. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA
Tian G, Brussaard L (1993) Biological effects of plant residues with contrasting chemical compositions under humid tropical conditions: effects on soil fauna. Soil Biol Biochem 25:731–737. https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-0717(93)90114-Q
Topping CJ, Sunderland KD (1992) Limitations to the use of pitfall traps in ecological studies exemplified by a study of spiders in a field of winter wheat. J Appl Ecol 29:485–491. https://doi.org/10.2307/2404516
Törne EV (1962) An elutriation and sieving apparatus, for extracting micro–arthropods from soil. In: Murphy PW (ed) Progress in soil zoology. Butterworth’s, London, pp 204–206
Tuf IH (2015) Different collecting methods reveal different ecological groups of centipedes (Chilopoda). Fortschr Zool 32:345–350. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-46702015000500003
Tullgren A (1918) Ein sehr einfacher Ausleseapparat für terricole Tierformen. Z Angew Entomol 4:149–150
Turchin P (1998) Quantitative analysis of movement: measuring and modeling population redistribution in animals and plants. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland
Unestam T, Stenstrom E (1989) A method for observing and manipulating roots and root-associated fungi on plants growing in nonsterile substrates. Scand J For Res 4:51–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/02827588909382545
Wall DH, Moore JC (1999) Interactions underground: soil biodiversity, mutualism, and ecosystem processes. Bioscience 49:109–117. https://doi.org/10.2307/1313536
Wall DH, Bradford MA, John MGS et al (2008) Global decomposition experiment shows soil animal impacts on decomposition are climate-dependent. Glob Chang Biol 14:2661–2677. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01672.x
Wallwork JA (1970) Ecology of soil animals. McGraw-Hill, London
Walter DE, Kethley J, Moore JC (1987) A heptane flotation method for microarthropods from semi-arid soils, with comparison to the Merchant-Crossley high-gradient extraction method and estimates of microarthropod biomass. Pedobiologia 30:221–232
Wang S, Ruan H, Wang B (2009) Effects of soil microarthropods on plant litter decomposition across an elevation gradient in the Wuyi Mountains. Soil Biol Biochem 41:891–897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2008.12.016
Wardle DA (2006) The influence of biotic interactions on soil biodiversity. Ecol Lett 9:870–886. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2006.00931.x
Wardle DA, Nicholson KS, Bonner KI et al (1999) Effects of agricultural intensification on soil-associated arthropod population dynamics, community structure, diversity and temporal variability over a seven-year period. Soil Biol Biochem 31:1691–1706. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(99)00089-9
Wardle DA, Bardgett RD, Klironomos JN et al (2004) Ecological linkages between aboveground and belowground biota. Science 304:1629–1633. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1094875
Welker BD, Clark SH, Fontaine CT et al (1975) A comparison of Petersen tags and biological stains used with internal tags as marks for shrimp. Gulf Res Rep 5:1–5. https://doi.org/10.18785/grr.0501.02
Williams JE, Wiegert RG (1971) Effects of naphthalene application on a coastal plain broomsedge (Andropogon) community. Pedobiologia 11:58–65
Wolters V (2001) Biodiversity of soil animals and its function. Eur J Soil Biol 37:221–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1164-5563(01)01088-3
Xiong Y, Shao Y, Xia H et al (2008) Selection of selective biocides on soil microarthropods. Soil Biol Biochem 40:2706–2709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2008.07.014
Yang B, Zhang W, Xu H et al (2017) Effects of soil fauna on leaf litter decomposition under different land uses in eastern coast of China. J For Res 29:973–982. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-017-0521-5
Yoshii R (1989) On some Collembola of New Caledonia, with notes on the “colour pattern species”. Contributions from the Biological Laboratory, Kyoto University 27:233–259
Zak DR, Grigal DF, Gleeson S et al (1990) Carbon and nitrogen cycling during old-field succession: constraints on plant and microbial biomass. Biogeochemistry 11:111–129. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00002062
Zhang M, Zou X, Schaefer DA (2010) Alteration of soil labile organic carbon by invasive earthworms (Pontoscolex corethrurus) in tropical rubber plantations. Eur J Soil Biol 46:74–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejsobi.2009.11.004
Acknowledgments
Support was provided by grants DEB 1239764 and 1546686 from the US National Science Foundation to the Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Studies, University of Puerto Rico, and to the International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF) USDA Forest Service, as part of the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research Program. González was additionally supported by the Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory (EAR-1331841). The US Forest Service (Department of Agriculture) Research and Development Unit and the University of Puerto Rico provided additional support. We thank Drs. William A. Gould, Ariel E. Lugo, Geraldo Wilson Fernandes, and Jean Carlos Santos for kindly reviewing an earlier version of this manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
González, G., Barberena-Arias, M.F., Huang, W., Ospina-Sánchez, C.M. (2021). Sampling Methods for Soil and Litter Fauna. In: Santos, J.C., Fernandes, G.W. (eds) Measuring Arthropod Biodiversity. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53226-0_19
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53226-0_19
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-53225-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-53226-0
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)