{"type": "FeatureCollection", "features": [{"id": "1854/LU-8732814", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-29T16:25:30Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2021-11-09", "title": "Litter quality, mycorrhizal association, and soil properties regulate effects of tree species on the soil fauna community", "description": "Abstract Forest management, including selection of appropriate tree species to mitigate climate change and sustain biodiversity, requires a better understanding of factors that affect the composition of soil fauna communities. These communities are an integral part of the soil ecosystem and play an essential role in forest ecosystem functioning related to carbon and nitrogen cycling. Here, by performing a field study across six common gardens in Denmark, we evaluated the effects of tree species identity and mycorrhizal association (i.e., arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) and ectomycorrhiza (ECM)) on soil fauna (meso- and macrofauna) taxonomic and functional community composition by using diversity, abundance, and biomass as proxies. We found that (1) tree species identity and mycorrhizal association both showed significant effects on soil fauna communities, but the separation between community characteristics in AM and ECM tree species was not entirely consistent; (2) total soil fauna abundance, biomass, as well as taxonomic and functional diversity were generally significantly higher under AM tree species, as well as lime, with higher litter quality (high N and base cation and low lignin:N ratio); (3) tree species significantly influenced the properties of litter, forest floor, and soil, among which litter and/or forest floor N, P, Ca, and Mg concentrations, soil pH, and soil moisture predominantly affected soil fauna abundance, biomass, and taxonomic and functional diversity. Our results from this multisite common garden experiment provide strong and consistent evidence of positive effects of tree species with higher litter quality on soil fauna communities in general, which helps to better understand the effects of tree species selection on soil biodiversity and its functions related to forest soil carbon sequestration.", "keywords": ["DECOMPOSITION", "EARTHWORMS", "Diversity", "PH", "FOREST FLOOR", "Common garden experiment", "Soil meso- and macrofauna", "DIVERSITY", "Biology and Life Sciences", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "NITROGEN", "CARBON", "Taxonomic group", "FUNCTIONAL TRAITS", "Abundance", "13. Climate action", "Earth and Environmental Sciences", "Functional group", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "BIODIVERSITY", "ABUNDANCE", "Biomass"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/1854/LU-8732814"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Geoderma", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "1854/LU-8732814", "name": "item", "description": "1854/LU-8732814", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/1854/LU-8732814"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2022-02-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1002/eap.3066", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-29T16:14:09Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2024-11-26", "title": "Wheat field earthworms under divergent farming systems across a European climate gradient", "description": "Abstract

Earthworms are a key faunal group in agricultural soils, but little is known on how farming systems affect their communities across wide climatic gradients and how farming system choice might mediate earthworms' exposure to climate conditions. Here, we studied arable soil earthworm communities on wheat fields across a European climatic gradient, covering nine pedo\uffe2\uff80\uff90climatic zones, from Mediterranean to Boreal (S to N) and from Lusitanian to Pannonian (W to E). In each zone, 20\uffe2\uff80\uff9325 wheat fields under conventional or organic farming were sampled. Community metrics (total abundance, fresh mass, and species richness and composition) were combined with data on climate conditions, soil properties, and field management and analyzed with mixed models. There were no statistically discernible differences between organic and conventional farming for any of the community metrics. The effects of refined arable management factors were also not detected, except for an elevated proportion of subsurface\uffe2\uff80\uff90feeding earthworms when crop residues were incorporated. Soil properties were not significantly associated with earthworm community variations, which in the case of soil texture was likely due to low variation in the data. Pedo\uffe2\uff80\uff90climatic zone was an overridingly important factor in explaining the variation in community metrics. The Boreal zone had the highest mean total abundance (179\uffe2\uff80\uff89individuals\uffe2\uff80\uff89m\uffe2\uff88\uff922) and fresh mass (86\uffe2\uff80\uff89g\uffe2\uff80\uff89m\uffe2\uff88\uff922) of earthworms while the southernmost Mediterranean zones had the lowest metrics (<1\uffe2\uff80\uff89individual\uffe2\uff80\uff89m\uffe2\uff88\uff922 and <1\uffe2\uff80\uff89g\uffe2\uff80\uff89m\uffe2\uff88\uff922). Within each field, species richness was low across the zones, with the highest values being recorded at the Nemoral and North Atlantic zones (mean of 2\uffe2\uff80\uff933 species per field) and declining from there toward north and south. No litter\uffe2\uff80\uff90dwelling species were found in the southernmost, Mediterranean zones. These regional trends were discernibly related to climate, with the community metrics declining with the increasing mean annual temperature. The current continent\uffe2\uff80\uff90wide warming of Europe and related increase of severe and rapid onsetting droughts will likely deteriorate the living conditions of earthworms, particularly in southern Europe. The lack of interaction between the pedo\uffe2\uff80\uff90climatic zone and the farming system in our data for any of the earthworm community metrics may indicate limited opportunities for alleviating the negative effects of a warming climate in cereal field soils of Europe.Earthworms are a key faunal group in agricultural soils, but little is known on how farming systems affect their communities across wide climatic gradients and how farming system choice might mediate earthworms' exposure to climate conditions. Here, we studied arable soil earthworm communities on wheat fields across a European climatic gradient, covering nine pedo\uffe2\uff80\uff90climatic zones, from Mediterranean to Boreal (S to N) and from Lusitanian to Pannonian (W to E). In each zone, 20\uffe2\uff80\uff9325 wheat fields under conventional or organic farming were sampled. Community metrics (total abundance, fresh mass, and species richness and composition) were combined with data on climate conditions, soil properties, and field management and analyzed with mixed models. There were no statistically discernible differences between organic and conventional farming for any of the community metrics. The effects of refined arable management factors were also not detected, except for an elevated proportion of subsurface\uffe2\uff80\uff90feeding earthworms when crop residues were incorporated. Soil properties were not significantly associated with earthworm community variations, which in the case of soil texture was likely due to low variation in the data. Pedo\uffe2\uff80\uff90climatic zone was an overridingly important factor in explaining the variation in community metrics. The Boreal zone had the highest mean total abundance (179\uffe2\uff80\uff89individuals\uffe2\uff80\uff89m\uffe2\uff88\uff922) and fresh mass (86\uffe2\uff80\uff89g\uffe2\uff80\uff89m\uffe2\uff88\uff922) of earthworms while the southernmost Mediterranean zones had the lowest metrics (<1\uffe2\uff80\uff89individual\uffe2\uff80\uff89m\uffe2\uff88\uff922 and <1\uffe2\uff80\uff89g\uffe2\uff80\uff89m\uffe2\uff88\uff922). Within each field, species richness was low across the zones, with the highest values being recorded at the Nemoral and North Atlantic zones (mean of 2\uffe2\uff80\uff933 species per field) and declining from there toward north and south. No litter\uffe2\uff80\uff90dwelling species were found in the southernmost, Mediterranean zones. These regional trends were discernibly related to climate, with the community metrics declining with the increasing mean annual temperature. The current continent\uffe2\uff80\uff90wide warming of Europe and related increase of severe and rapid onsetting droughts will likely deteriorate the living conditions of earthworms, particularly in southern Europe. The lack of interaction between the pedo\uffe2\uff80\uff90climatic zone and the farming system in our data for any of the earthworm community metrics may indicate limited opportunities for alleviating the negative effects of a warming climate in cereal field soils of Europe.Earthworms are a key faunal group in agricultural soils, but little is known on how farming systems affect their communities across wide climatic gradients and how farming system choice might mediate earthworms' exposure to climate conditions. Here, we studied arable soil earthworm communities on wheat fields across a European climatic gradient, covering nine pedo\uffe2\uff80\uff90climatic zones, from Mediterranean to Boreal (S to N) and from Lusitanian to Pannonian (W to E). In each zone, 20\uffe2\uff80\uff9325 wheat fields under conventional or organic farming were sampled. Community metrics (total abundance, fresh mass, and species richness and composition) were combined with data on climate conditions, soil properties, and field management and analyzed with mixed models. There were no statistically discernible differences between organic and conventional farming for any of the community metrics. The effects of refined arable management factors were also not detected, except for an elevated proportion of subsurface\uffe2\uff80\uff90feeding earthworms when crop residues were incorporated. Soil properties were not significantly associated with earthworm community variations, which in the case of soil texture was likely due to low variation in the data. Pedo\uffe2\uff80\uff90climatic zone was an overridingly important factor in explaining the variation in community metrics. The Boreal zone had the highest mean total abundance (179\uffe2\uff80\uff89individuals\uffe2\uff80\uff89m\uffe2\uff88\uff922) and fresh mass (86\uffe2\uff80\uff89g\uffe2\uff80\uff89m\uffe2\uff88\uff922) of earthworms while the southernmost Mediterranean zones had the lowest metrics (<1\uffe2\uff80\uff89individual\uffe2\uff80\uff89m\uffe2\uff88\uff922 and <1\uffe2\uff80\uff89g\uffe2\uff80\uff89m\uffe2\uff88\uff922). Within each field, species richness was low across the zones, with the highest values being recorded at the Nemoral and North Atlantic zones (mean of 2\uffe2\uff80\uff933 species per field) and declining from there toward north and south. No litter\uffe2\uff80\uff90dwelling species were found in the southernmost, Mediterranean zones. These regional trends were discernibly related to climate, with the community metrics declining with the increasing mean annual temperature. The current continent\uffe2\uff80\uff90wide warming of Europe and related increase of severe and rapid onsetting droughts will likely deteriorate the living conditions of earthworms, particularly in southern Europe. The lack of interaction between the pedo\uffe2\uff80\uff90climatic zone and the farming system in our data for any of the earthworm community metrics may indicate limited opportunities for alleviating the negative effects of a warming climate in cereal field soils of Europe.