Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-36216-6
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Globally invariant metabolism but density-diversity mismatch in springtails
Author Potapov, A.M.; Guerra, C.A.; van den Hoogen, J.; Babenko, A.; Bellini, B.C.; Berg, M.P.; Chown, S.L.; Deharveng, L.; Kováč, L.; Kuznetsova, N.A.; Yin, R.; Zeppelini, D., et al.
Source Titel Nature Communications
Year 2023
Department BZF
Volume 14
Page From art. 674
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Data and Software links https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16850419
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16850446
Supplements https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41467-023-36216-6/MediaObjects/41467_2023_36216_MOESM1_ESM.pdf
Abstract Soil life supports the functioning and biodiversity 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 diversity 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 individuals 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, diversity and activity of springtail communities with temperature suggest that climate warming will alter fundamental soil biodiversity metrics in different directions, potentially restructuring terrestrial food webs and affecting soil functioning.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=27607
Potapov, A.M., Guerra, C.A., van den Hoogen, J., Babenko, A., Bellini, B.C., Berg, M.P., Chown, S.L., Deharveng, L., Kováč, L., Kuznetsova, N.A., Yin, R., Zeppelini, D., et al. (2023):
Globally invariant metabolism but density-diversity mismatch in springtails
Nat. Commun. 14 , art. 674 10.1038/s41467-023-36216-6