Studies on the Soil Invertebrate Community in the Process of Leaf Decomposition in Namsan and Kwangreung Deciduous Forests

남산과 광릉 활엽수림에서 낙엽분해에 관여하는 토양무척추동물군집에 관한 연구

One year study with litter bags(mesh size - 0.4mm, 0.8mm, 1.7mm and 5.0mm) was carried out to investigate the soil invertebrate community in the process of leaf decomposition in Namsan and Kwangreung deciduous forests, which were considered to be under different degrees of environmental selective pressure. Soil animals collected from litter bags were classified into the class of order or higher taxa. Acari and Collembola were major groups: Acari and Collembola were about 60% and 30% of total soil animals in their numbers, respectively. Among minor groups, Dipteria, Araneae, Diplopoda, Coleoptera and Chilopoda were comparatively dominant. In Namsan forest which was considered to be under higher environmental selective pressure than Kwangreung, the densities of Acari and Collembola were somewhat higher than in Kwangreung, although there was no statistically significant difference between two sites. The densities of Chilopoda, Enchytraeidae and Nematoda were much higher in Namsan than in Kwangreung but Diplopoda and Symphyla were much more in Kwangreung. It was expected that those groups could be used as bioindicators. The densities of Acari and Collembola were very low until March and then showed the peak in May. But they decreased slowly until November. There was no significant difference among the mesh sized of litter bags in the densities of Acari and Collembola but other groups of soil invertebrates seemed to be prevented from immigrating into the litter bag of mesh size 0.4mm. Decomposition rate of litter in the litter bag was low in early stage of decomposition. The % residual mass over initial mass at 8 months after litter bag introduction in the field was over 80%. Thereafter, % residual mass decreased more fast and was about 60% at 1 year after bag introduction. There was little evidence for the effects of soil invertebrates upon the litter decomposition in the period of this study. And there was no significant difference between Namsan and Kwangreung or among mesh sizes of litter bags in the decomposition rate.