Disturbances are intrinsic drivers of structure and function in ecosystems, hence predicting their effects in forest ecosystems is essential for forest conservation and/or management practices. Yet, knowledge regarding belowground impacts of disturbance events still remains little understood and can greatly vary by taxonomic and functional identity, disturbance type and local environmental conditions. To address this gap in knowledge, we conducted a survey of soil-dwelling Protura, across forests subjected to different disturbance regimes (i.e. windstorms, insect pest outbreaks and clear-cut logging). We expected that the soil proturan assemblages would differ among disturbance regimes. We also hypothesized that these differences would be driven primarily by variation in soil physicochemical properties thus the impacts of forest disturbances would be indirect and related to changes in food resources. To verify that sampling included two geographically distant subalpine glacial lake catchments that differed in underlying geology, each having four different types of forest disturbance, i.e. control, bark beetle outbreak (BB), windthrow + BB (wind + BB) and clear-cut. As expected, forest disturbance had negative effects on proturan diversity and abundance, with multiple disturbances having the greatest impacts. However, differences in edaphic factors constituted a stronger driver of variability in distribution and abundance of proturans assemblages. These results imply that soil biogeochemistry and resource availability can have much stronger effects on proturan assemblages than forest disturbances.

• MeSH
• biodiverzita MeSH
• brouci růst a vývoj   MeSH
• členovci růst a vývoj   MeSH
• ekosystém MeSH
• jezera MeSH
• lesy MeSH
• půda MeSH
• stromy fyziologie   MeSH
• zachování přírodních zdrojů MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

BACKGROUND: Ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECM) play a central role in nutrient cycling in boreal and temperate forests, but their role in the soil food web remains little understood. One of the groups assumed to live as specialised mycorrhizal feeders are Protura, but experimental and field evidence is lacking. We used a combination of three methods to test if Protura are specialized mycorrhizal feeders and compared their trophic niche with other soil invertebrates. Using pulse labelling of young beech and ash seedlings we analysed the incorporation of 13C and 15N into Acerentomon gallicum. In addition, individuals of Protura from temperate forests were collected for the analysis of neutral lipid fatty acids and natural variations in stable isotope ratios. RESULTS: Pulse labelling showed rapid incorporation of root-derived 13C, but no incorporation of root-derived 15N into A. gallicum. The transfer of 13C from lateral roots to ectomycorrhizal root tips was high, while it was low for 15N. Neutral lipid fatty acid (NLFA) analysis showed high amounts of bacterial marker (16:1ω7) and plant marker (16:0 and 18:1ω9) fatty acids but not of the fungal membrane lipid 18:2ω6,9 in A. gallicum. Natural variations in stable isotope ratios in Protura from a number of temperate forests were distinct from those of the great majority of other soil invertebrates, but remarkably similar to those of sporocarps of ECM fungi. CONCLUSIONS: Using three in situ methods, stable isotope labelling, neutral lipid fatty acid analysis and natural variations of stable isotope ratios, we showed that Protura predominantly feed on mycorrhizal hyphae via sucking up hyphal cytoplasm. Predominant feeding on ectomycorrhizal mycelia by Protura is an exception; the limited consumption of ECM by other soil invertebrates may contribute to carbon sequestration in temperate and boreal forests.

• MeSH
• členovci fyziologie   MeSH
• izotopy dusíku analýza   MeSH
• izotopy uhlíku analýza   MeSH
• lesy MeSH
• mykorhiza * chemie   MeSH
• potravní řetězec * MeSH
• půdní mikrobiologie MeSH
• stravovací zvyklosti MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Německo MeSH