Use of edaphic microinvertebrates to characterize soil quality in the forest Monte el Viejo, Palencia

Abstract

Conservation of increasingly degraded natural resources urges to develop fast and economic methodologies to evaluate the state of these resources in order to protect them. The aim of this study was to assess the soil quality of a Mediterranean forest located in Palencia (North Spain) using the QBS-ar index (Soil Biological Quality, adapted to arthropods). For this, three plots with different habitats in a managed ecosystem (secondary grassland, shrub community, and Mediterranean oak young forest) were selected and characterized in terms of stand composition and soil. Three soil samples were taken in each plot and the captured arthropods were identified. Moreover, six ecological indicators were calculated: QBS-ar, observed taxonomic richness (Sobs), diversity (Hsw), evenness (Ep), dominance, and specificity-fidelity. Variations of QBS-ar, observed taxonomic richness, diversity and evenness by by type of habitat and stand variables were evaluated computing generalized lineal models (GLMs). Analyses showed that QBS-ar, Sobs or Hsw did not vary between the different vegetation covers. Interestingly, taxonomic evenness showed significant variation either according to habitat -being higher in the shrubland- or by shrub height