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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2024, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (9): 140-154.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2023416

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Effects of nitrogen deposition and precipitation changes in different time spans on community structure and diversity of soil meso- and micro-fauna in Stipa breviflora desert steppe

Shi-long HE1,2(), He YE1,2, Jing LI1,2, Ya-ling ZHANG1,2, Hai-shan DE1,2, Mei HONG1,2()   

  1. 1.College of Grassland,Resources and Environment,Inner Mongolia Agricultural University,Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Soil Quality and Nutrient Resources,Hohhot 010018,China
    2.Key Laboratory of Agricultural Ecological Security and Green Development at Universities of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,Hohhot 010018,China
  • Received:2023-11-01 Revised:2023-12-06 Online:2024-09-20 Published:2024-06-20
  • Contact: Mei HONG

Abstract:

Nitrogen deposition and precipitation changes have great impacts on desert steppe ecosystems. In order to investigate the different effects of nitrogen deposition and precipitation changes in different time frames on the structure and diversity of soil meso- and micro- fauna communities under desert steppe, simulation experiments were set up in 2015 in the Stipa breviflora desert steppe of Siziwangqi, Inner Mongolia, with three moisture gradients of reduced rainfall (R), natural precipitation (CK), and increased rainfall (W) as main plots, and N0, N30, N50, and N100 nitrogen levels as subplots in a split-plot experiment. Soil fauna changes were analysed by comparing data for 2016 and 2020. It was found that 553 soil meso- and micro- fauna, belonging to 10 orders and 46 families of Arthropoda, were captured and isolated in the sample plots in 2016; 1211 soil meso- and micro- fauna, belonging to 13 orders and 41 families of Arthropoda, were captured and isolated in the sample plots in 2020, of which 24 families were different from those in 2016. Under the R treatment the highest number of captures were made under the N30 treatment in 2016, and the highest number of captures were made under the N50 in 2020. The ratio of individual density of soil meso- and micro-fauna in the 0-10 cm soil layer to that in the 10-20 cm soil layer was 3.98 in 2016, and was 1.83 in 2020-a decrease of 54% compared with 2016. The diversity index and richness index in 2020 under the WN50 and WN100 treatments were higher than those in 2016, and the dominance index in 2020 under CKN50 and CKN100 treatments was lower than in 2016. The results of principal coordinates analyses showed that moisture treatments had a more significant effect on the distribution of soil meso- and micro-fauna in the desert steppe (P<0.05); and the results of redundancy analyses showed that the correlation between soil pH and soil fauna diversity and quantity indicators was enhanced after 5 years of changed water and nitrogen availability. In summary, under the background of global change, precise regulation of soil pH can further influence the ecological functions of soil fauna in soil ecosystems.

Key words: soil meso- and micro-fauna, diversity, nitrogen deposition, precipitation variation, desert steppe