Summary
The microarthropod community response to season, change in foliage litter quality during decomposition, and manipulated canopy herbivory by insects was measured in litterbags under 10-year-old Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco, in western Oregon. Collembola accounted for 35% of the total fauna, oribatid mites for 29%, and fungivorous actinedids for 22%.
The community structure was affected by responses to canopy defoliation, season, and changes in litter quality. Of 33 taxa, three were significantly more abundant under trees subject to lepidopteran defoliation (≤20% foliage removal), compared to other treatments, indicating responses to defoliator-induced changes in litter environment. Most taxa (23) showed seasonal fluctuations in abundance related to the seasonal pattern of temperature and precipitation and to the pattern of N and Ca mobilization from litterbags. Five taxa showed significant longterm trends in abundance, indicating responses to changes in litter quality, perhaps a loss of P and K.
These data indicate that microarthropod communities respond qualitatively to environmental changes, including canopy defoliation. The qualitative changes can affeet decomposition processes.
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Schowalter, T.D., Sabin, T.E. Litter microarthropod responses to canopy herbivory, season and decomposition in litterbags in a regenerating conifer ecosystem in Western Oregon. Biol Fertil Soils 11, 93–96 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00336370
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00336370