Variation in Community-Level Trophic Niches of Soil Microarthropods With Conversion of Tropical Rainforest Into Plantation Systems as Indicated by Stable Isotopes (15N, 13C)

作者：Alena Krause, Dorothee Sandmann, Anton Potapov, Sergey G. Ermilov, Rahayu Widyastuti, Noor Farikhah Haneda, Stefan Scheu, Mark Maraun · 发表于：Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.3389/fevo.2021.592149 · 被引用次数：27 · 研究领域：Isotope Analysis in Ecology、Plant and animal studies、Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

Land-use change is threatening biodiversity worldwide and is predicted to increase in the next decades, especially in tropical regions. Most studies focused on the response of single or few species to land-use change, only few investigated the response of entire communities. In particular the response of belowground communities to changes in land use received little attention. Oribatid mites (Oribatida, Acari) are among the most abundant soil animals, involved in decomposition processes and nutrient cycling. Oribatid mite species span a wide range of trophic niches and are known to sensitively respond to changes in land use. Here, we investigated shifts in the community-level trophic niche of oribatid mites with the conversion of rainforest into rubber and oil palm plantations. Due to a wider range of resources in more natural ecosystems, we expected the community-level trophic niche to shrink with conversion of rainforest into plantations. As the conversion of rainforest into plantations is associated with reduced availability of litter resources, we expected the average trophic level (indicated by the 15 N/ 14 N ratio) to be higher and basal resources (indicated by the 13 C/ 12 C ratio) to shift toward living plant material in rubber and oil palm plantations. Our analysis showed that community-level trophic niches in rainforest and rubber agroforest (“jungle rubber”) were separated from those in monoculture plantation systems, indicating a trophic niche shift with land-use ...