Publication
Globally invariant metabolism but density-diversity mismatch in springtails
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date:
07-02-2023
DOI:
10.1038/S41467-023-36216-6
Abstract: Soil life supports the functioning and bio ersity of terrestrial ecosystems. Springtails (Collembola) are among the most abundant soil arthropods regulating soil fertility and flow of energy through above- and belowground food webs. However, the global distribution of springtail ersity and density, and how these relate to energy fluxes remains unknown. Here, using a global dataset representing 2470 sites, we estimate the total soil springtail biomass at 27.5 megatons carbon, which is threefold higher than wild terrestrial vertebrates, and record peak densities up to 2 million in iduals per square meter in the tundra. Despite a 20-fold biomass difference between the tundra and the tropics, springtail energy use (community metabolism) remains similar across the latitudinal gradient, owing to the changes in temperature with latitude. Neither springtail density nor community metabolism is predicted by local species richness, which is high in the tropics, but comparably high in some temperate forests and even tundra. Changes in springtail activity may emerge from latitudinal gradients in temperature, predation and resource limitation in soil communities. Contrasting relationships of biomass, ersity and activity of springtail communities with temperature suggest that climate warming will alter fundamental soil bio ersity metrics in different directions, potentially restructuring terrestrial food webs and affecting soil functioning.