Recent progress in ecological studies of soil fauna

Abstract

Progress in ecological studies of soil fauna includes studies of the role and effects of soil fauna on decomposition and soil carbon dynamics in relation to global environmental changes, the introduction of molecular biology approaches to such studies, feeding habit analysis using stable isotopes, trait-based analysis of community ecology, and fine-scale experimental studies on the above/below ground relationship in ecosystems. In relation to this progress, six topics were reviewed: the function of soil fauna in the decomposition process; carbon sequestration in earthworms; the process of assemblage formation in earthworms; a trait-based approach to the collembolan community; food habit analysis using stable isotopes; and soil faunal impacts on plants.