Global distribution of soil fauna functional groups and their estimated litter consumption across biomes.

Soil invertebrates (i.e., soil fauna) are important drivers of many key processes in soils including soil aggregate formation, water retention, and soil organic matter transformation. Many soil fauna groups directly or indirectly participate in litter consumption. However, the quantity of litter consumed by major faunal groups across biomes remains unknown. To estimate this quantity, we reviewed > 1000 observations from 70 studies that determined the biomass of soil fauna across various biomes and 200 observations from 44 studies on litter consumption by soil fauna. To compare litter consumption with annual litterfall, we analyzed 692 observations from 24 litterfall studies and 183 observations from 28 litter stock studies. The biomass of faunal groups was highest in temperate grasslands and then decreased in the following order: boreal forest > temperate forest > tropical grassland > tundra > tropical forest > Mediterranean ecosystems > desert and semidesert. Tropical grasslands, desert biomes, and Mediterranean ecosystems were dominated by termites. Temperate grasslands were dominated by omnivores, while temperate forests were dominated by earthworms. On average, estimated litter consumption (relative to total litter input) ranged from a low of 14.9% in deserts to a high of 100.4% in temperate grassland. Litter consumption by soil fauna was greater in grasslands than in forests. This is the first study to estimate the effect of different soil fauna groups on litter consumption and related processes at global scale.

The impact of woodchip-gravel mixture on the efficiency and toxicity of denitrification bioreactors.

Woodchip-based denitrification bioreactors are widely used for treatment of high loads of nitrate pollution in agricultural run-off water. A concern raised recently, as a consequence of various organic fillings being experimented with, is whether the positive effect given by nitrate reduction could override the negative effects of such bioreactors, mainly caused by degradation of wood and the production of potentially harmful conditions for aquatic ecosystems. This paper presents the results of the experimental testing of two different filling materials: birch (BWCH) and spruce (SWCH) woodchip, and their mixture with washed gravel (WG) in volumetric ratio 10:1. We have focused on the leaching of organic carbon and phenols, and its impact on selected aquatic organisms, as well as on their denitrification efficiency and NO3- load removal rate (LRT). The results show that TOC, DOC and FNI (phenolic index) leaching is higher for the pure woodchip materials and is closely correlated with the growth inhibition of tested organisms (Vibrio fischeri, Daphnia magna, Desmodesmus subspicatus, Lemna minor). The highest denitrification efficiency and the highest load removal rates were recorded in mixed filling material (96% and 1.4 mg NO3-·dm3·d-1 for WG:BWCH; 85% and 1.2 mg NO3-·dm3·d-1 for WG:SWCH). Denitrification bioreactors with mixed woodchip filling material present a promising, cheap, and extensive technology for the treatment of agricultural field run-offs.

Influence of surface flattening on biodiversity of terrestrial arthropods during early stages of brown coal spoil heap restoration.

Heterogeneity of environmental conditions is the crucial factor supporting biodiversity in various habitats, including post-mining sites. The effects of micro-topographic heterogeneity on biodiversity and conservation potential of arthropod communities in post-industrial habitats had not been studied before now. At one of the largest European brown coal spoil heaps, we sampled eight groups of terrestrial arthropods with different life strategies (moths, spiders, ground beetles, ants, orthopteroids, centipedes, millipedes, and woodlice), in successionally young plots (5-18 y), with a heterogeneous wavy surface after heaping, and compared the communities with plots flattened by dozing. A combination of the standardized quantitative sampling, using two different methods, and a paired design of the plot selection enabled a robust analysis. Altogether, we recorded 380 species of the focal arthropods, 15 of them nationally threatened. We revealed the importance of the micro-topographic heterogeneity for the formation of the biodiversity of arthropods in their secondary refuges. The communities with higher biodiversity and conservation value were detected in the plots with heterogeneous surfaces; exceptions were ground beetles and millipedes. The surface flattening, often the first step of technical reclamation projects, thus suppress biodiversity of most terrestrial arthropods during the restoration of post-mining sites. Since the communities of both surface types differed, the proportional presence on both surfaces could be more efficient in supporting the local biodiversity. We suggest reducing the surface dozing for the cases with other concerns only, to achieve a proportional representation of both surface types. Such a combination of different restoration approaches would, thus, efficiently support high biodiversity of groups with various needs.

Rough wave-like heaped overburden promotes establishment of woody vegetation while leveling promotes grasses during unassisted post mining site development.

Geodiversity plays an important role in species establishment during spontaneous succession. At post-mining sites in the Czech Republic in 2003, we established plots in which the surface of the heaped overburden was either kept wave-like or leveled. Based on surveys conducted from 2006 to 2015, leveled plots were increasingly dominated by grasses and herbs (and especially by the grass Calamagrostis epigejos) while the wave-like plots were increasingly dominated by the trees Salix caprea and Betula pendula. In 2015, a detailed survey was conducted of the dominant species. Both S. caprea and B. pendula occurred more often in wave-like plots than in leveled plots; this was particularly true for trees taller than 1 m, which were absent in leveled plots. In wave-like plots, leaf and root biomasses of both woody species were higher on the wave slopes than on the wave depressions. Nitrogen content was higher but content stress indicating proline in leaves of S. caprea was lower in wave-like plots than in leveled plots. In wave-like plots, both woody species occurred mainly on wave slopes but C. epigejos occurred mainly in the depressions. We speculate that trees were more abundant in wave-like plots than in leveled plots because the waves trapped tree seeds and snow and because the soil porosity was greater in wave-like than in leveled plots. Grasses may have preferred the leveled plots because soil porosity was lower and clay content was higher in leveled than in wave-like plots.