Land-Use Types Influence the Community Composition of Soil Mesofauna in the Coastal Zones of Bohai Bay, China
Xiaoxue Zheng,
Yan Tao,
Zhongqiang Wang,
Xinchang Kou,
Haixia Wang,
Shengzhong Wang,
Donghui Wu
Affiliations
Xiaoxue Zheng
Key Laboratory of Geographical Processes and Ecological Security in Changbai Mountains, Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Yan Tao
Key Laboratory of Geographical Processes and Ecological Security in Changbai Mountains, Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Zhongqiang Wang
Key Laboratory of Geographical Processes and Ecological Security in Changbai Mountains, Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Xinchang Kou
Key Laboratory of Geographical Processes and Ecological Security in Changbai Mountains, Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Haixia Wang
Key Laboratory of Geographical Processes and Ecological Security in Changbai Mountains, Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Shengzhong Wang
Key Laboratory of Geographical Processes and Ecological Security in Changbai Mountains, Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Donghui Wu
Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Soil faunal communities play key roles in maintaining soil nutrient cycling. Affected by different land-use types, soil environment and soil faunal communities change significantly. However, few studies have focused on the aforementioned observations in coastal zones, which provide suitable habitats for many species of concern. Here, we investigated the changes in soil mesofaunal communities under different land-use types, including cotton fields, jujube trees, ash trees, a saline meadow, and wetlands. The variations in land-use types affected the community composition and diversity of soil mesofauna in the coastal zones. The taxa of soil mesofauna had different responses to land-use types in the coastal zones. Isotomidae was regarded as an indicator taxon of the coastal cropland regions. Entomobryidae was considered to be an indicator taxon of coastal artificial trees. Meanwhile, Onychiuridae and three taxa (Brachycera, Armadillidiidae, and Gammaridae) were indicator taxa of the coastal terrestrial ecosystem and the coastal wetland ecosystem, respectively. Thus, we suggested that specific soil mesofaunal taxa were considered to be appropriate bioindicators for land-use types in the coastal zones. The results of this study were helpful to develop guidelines for coastal biodiversity and ecosystem conservation in the future.
