title: Fertilizer regime impacts on abundance and diversity of soil fauna across a poplar plantation chronosequence in coastal Eastern China.
abstract: Soil fauna are critical for ecosystem function and sensitive to the changes of soil fertility. The effects of fertilization on soil fauna communities, however, remain poorly understood. We examined the effects of fertilization form and quantity on the abundance, diversity and composition of soil fauna across an age-sequence of poplar plantations (i.e., 4-, 9- and 20-yr-old) in the coastal region of eastern China. We found that the effects of fertilization on faunal abundance, diversity, and composition differed among stand ages. Organic fertilizers increased the total abundance of soil fauna, whereas low level inorganic fertilizers imparted increases only in the 4- and 9-yr-old stands. The number of faunal groups did not change with fertilization, but Shannon's and Margalef diversity indices increased under low level organic fertilization, and decreased under inorganic fertilization in the 9- and 20-yr-old stands. Community composition of soil fauna differed strongly with fertilization and stand age. The changes in soil fauna were strongly associated with the changes in microbial biomass carbon, dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen, and available phosphorus and potassium. Our findings suggest that the responses of soil fauna to fertilization may be mediated through the fertilization effects on soil nutrient availability.
authors: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southwest Forestry University, Bailongshi, Kunming 650224, P.R. China.|Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, P.R. China.
authors: Shaojun
authors: S
authors: Wang
authors: Faculty of Natural Resources Management, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada P7B 5E1.
authors: Han Y H
authors: HY
authors: Chen
authors: Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, P.R. China.
authors: Yan
authors: Y
authors: Tan
authors: Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, P.R. China.
authors: Huan
authors: H
authors: Fan
authors: Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, P.R. China.
authors: Honghua
authors: H
authors: Ruan
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D002681:China; D005308:Fertilizers; D032107:Populus / Q000254:growth & development*; D012987:Soil
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D012987:Soil