Microarthropod biomass-C dynamics in the belowground food webs of two arable farming systems
1994
Vreeken-Buijs, M.J. | Geurs, M. | Ruiter, P.C. de | Brussaard, L.
Microanthropod biomass-C dynamics in arable soil were observed in a 2 year sampling programme in a conventional and an integrated farming system. The most abundant functional groups were omnivorous collembola, omnivorous non-cryptostigmatic mites and predatory mites. Management practice, especially soil fumigation, affected the short-term dynamics of most groups but no effects were observed on the mean annual biomass of these groups. In the food webs studied in the Netherlands (Lovinkhoeve) or in Sweden (Kjettslinge) and Georgia, USA (Horseshoe Bend), no relation between the biomass of the microanthropods and their main food source (primary decomposers) could be identified from the biomass annual means. The sampling results of the present study indicated that the microanthropod functional groups were able to recover rapidly from harsh management practices.
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