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Microbial and Microarthropod Detrital Processing in a Prairie Soil
Author(s) -
Lussenhop John
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1936995
Subject(s) - organic matter , particulates , particulate organic matter , productivity , soil organic matter , soil biology , biology , detritivore , ecology , bulk density , biomass (ecology) , environmental science , botany , ecosystem , agronomy , soil water , economics , macroeconomics
Spring burning and raking were used to increase detrital productivity relative to undisturbed plots in a Wisconsin prairie soil (Mollic Hapludalf). Relative changes in fungal hyphae and microarthropod density were determined 3, 7, and 28 wk after treatment; percent carbon, particulate organic matter, and bacterial density were determined after 28 wk. Significant effects 28 wk after burning were disappearance of 30% of fine particulate organic matter, microarthropod density increase due to vertical migration, and increased particulate organic matter ingestion by oribatid mites. Twenty—eight weeks after raking, significant effects included 7% soil carbon loss and disappearance of 57% of fine particulate organic matter, and 25% of the fungal hyphae. In raked plots, bacterial cell density was 21% greater than in other treatments; microarthropod density increased through reproduction and vertical migration. These result demonstrate that (1) increased plant productivity speeds processing of plant material by fungi and orbatid mites, (2) physical disturbance of the soil more strongly increases processing of plant material and dead hyphae by bacteria, as well as orbatid, prostigmatid, as astigmatid mites (3) root growth is least where processing rate is greatest. Significant increases in proportions of orbatids and Collembola with empty guts in November suggest that in grasslands, resources may limit detritivores in fall.