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Spatiotemporal effects of invertebrates on soil processes

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Summary

The processes of C and N mineralization carried out by microorganisms are affected directly and indirectly by invertebrates over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Microfauna track temporal changes in bacterial and fungal populations in soil microsites, particularly in the rhizosphere, which alters the dynamic balance between N mobilization and immobilization. The feeding activities of mesofauna can determined the distribution, activities and composition of fungal communities. Macrofauna have major effects on fungal and bacterial activities, both directly, through feeding and gut passage, and indirectly, by affecting the microbial environment in litter and soil.

Soil biological processes can therefore be considered a hierarchy of successive levels of organization where the macro-, meso- and microfauna influence microbial activities at different scales in the habitat mosaic. The spatial components of this hierarchy are integrated by plant roots; root morphology must therefore define the scales at which the system operates under different plant nutrient regimes.

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Exeter, EX4 4PS, Exeter, UK

    J. M. Anderson

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This paper is dedicated to the memory of Professor M. S. Ghilarov in friendship and respect for his contributions to soil zoology

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Anderson, J.M. Spatiotemporal effects of invertebrates on soil processes. Biol Fert Soils 6, 216–227 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00260818

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