Loranger G., Ponge J.F., Blanchart Eric, Lavelle P. (1998). Impact of earthworms on the diversity of microarthropods in a vertisol (Martinique). Biology and Fertility of Soils, 27 (1), p. 21-26. ISSN 0178-2762.
Titre du document
Impact of earthworms on the diversity of microarthropods in a vertisol (Martinique)
Année de publication
1998
Type de document
Article
Auteurs
Loranger G., Ponge J.F., Blanchart Eric, Lavelle P.
Source
Biology and Fertility of Soils, 1998,
27 (1), p. 21-26 ISSN 0178-2762
In a study of a 15-year-old pasture in Martinique (French West Indies), abundance and organization of microarthropod communities were correlated with the spatial distribution of the earthworm Polypheretima elongata (Megascolecidae). In patches of high earthworm density (133 individuals/sq m), microarthropod density was significantly higher (80 000 individuals/sq m) than in patches with few earthworms (31 worms/sq m and 49 000 microarthropods/sq m). The diversity of microarthropod communities followed a similar pattern, the Shannon index for Collembola communities being, respectively, 3.12 and 1.82 in and outside earthworm patches. These results suggest that mesofauna abundance and diversity might be at least partly determined by the activity of larger invertebrates, as a result of the dramatic effects that the latter group exerts upon soil structure, pore distribution and food resources. (Résumé d'auteur)
Plan de classement
Mésofaune [074FAUSOL02]
Descripteurs
FAUNE DU SOL ; MICROARTHROPODE ; LOMBRIC ; ABONDANCE ; DISTRIBUTION SPATIALE ; BIODIVERSITE ; ANALYSE DE CORRESPONDANCE ; PATURAGE ; VERTISOL ; ETUDE REGIONALE
