Transitory dynamic effects in the soil invertebrate community in a temperate deciduous forest: Effects of resource quality

The importance and strength of bottom-up forces in terrestrial soil systems are poorly understood. In contrast to aquatic systems, where trophic cascades and top-down forces dominate, it has been postulated that terrestrial systems are regulated mainly by bottom-up forces. We set up a 17 month field experiment to study the effects of addition of resources of different quality (wood, wheat bran, pet food, and glucose+phosphorous+nitrogen) on the soil micro-, meso- and macrofauna as well as on microbial biomass, ergosterol content and abiotic parameters (soil pH, water content, carbon and nitrogen content) in a beech forest (Fagus sylvatica) on sandstone. We hypothesized that bottom-up effects will be strong on lower trophic levels resulting in increased biomass of bacteria and fungi, and that this increase will propagate to higher trophic levels (microbivorous invertebrates, predators) but with decreasing intensity due to dampening of bottom-up forces at higher trophic levels by high connectivity, trophic-level-omnivory and generalist feeding. The results of the study in general did not support these hypotheses. Microbial biomass only moderately increased after resource addition, and while densities of several animal groups increased (lumbricids, nematodes, collembolans, gamasid mites, staphylinid beetles), densities of other groups declined (oribatid mites, prostigmate mites, lithobiids), and a large number of taxa remained unaffected (enchytraeids, diplopods, uropodine mites, pseudoscorpions, spiders). We conclude that (a) bottom-up forces are of limited importance in the soil system of temperate deciduous forests, (b) large primary decomposers, such as earthworms, do not depend on microorganisms as food but consume organic matter directly, (c) the link between microorganisms and microbivores, such as collembolans, is weak since collembolan density increased even though microbial biomass was unaffected, (d) habitat modification by ecosystem engineers, such as earthworms, is more important than resource availability for a number of soil invetebrates including prostigmate mites and centipedes, and (e) the soil food web in general is rather resistant responding little to changes in resource supply. The results also suggest that species which commonly are assigned to single trophic groups, such as collembolans, differently respond to changes of the base of the food web. Increased fungal biomass led to an increase in the density of Folsomia quadrioculata s.l. and Isotomiella minor, whereas the increased bacterial biomass was accompanied by an increase in density of Ceratophysella denticulata and Isotoma notabilis.