z-logo
Premium
Atmospheric change causes declines in woodland arthropods and impacts specific trophic groups
Author(s) -
Facey Sarah L.,
Fidler David B.,
Rowe Rhian C.,
Bromfield Lisa M.,
Nooten Sabine S.,
Staley Joanna T.,
Ellsworth David S.,
Johnson Scott N.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
agricultural and forest entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.755
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1461-9563
pISSN - 1461-9555
DOI - 10.1111/afe.12190
Subject(s) - trophic level , ecology , woodland , herbivore , biology , ecosystem , abundance (ecology) , omnivore , invertebrate , detritivore , terrestrial ecosystem , arthropod , predation
A rthropod assemblages form a fundamental part of terrestrial ecosystems, underpinning ecosystem processes and services. Yet, little is known about how invertebrate communities, as a whole, respond to climatic and atmospheric changes, including predicted increases in carbon dioxide concentrations ( CO 2 ). T o date, woodland F ree A ir CO 2 E nrichment ( FACE ) studies have focused entirely on northern hemisphere managed plantations. We manipulated atmospheric CO 2 in a mature, native E ucalyptus woodland (0.15 ha, >32 000 m 3 ) in A ustralia, using the E ucalyptus FACE (‘EucFACE’) facility. We used three complementary sampling methods (vacuum sampling, pitfall and sticky trapping) to record invertebrate abundances under ambient and elevated levels of CO 2 (400 versus 550 ppm). B ased on the collection of over 83 000 invertebrates, we found significant declines in the overall abundance of ground‐dwelling (14.7%) and aerial (12.9%) arthropods under elevated CO 2 , with significant decreases in herbivore, omnivore, scavenger and parasitoid functional groups. Even though several groups showed varying declines in abundance, elevated CO 2 did not measurably affect community composition. The results of the present study indicate that atmospheric CO 2 levels predicted within the next 35 years may cause declines in arthropod abundances in E ucalyptus woodland. Declines found in several functional groups suggest that elevated atmospheric CO 2 has the potential to affect ecosystem processes, possibly including nutrient cycling by herbivores and omnivores, as well as biocontrol by parasitoids.

This content is not available in your region!

Continue researching here.

Having issues? You can contact us here