PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #61: Soil Ecology II.
Thursday, August 8. Presentation from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC

Response of soil microarthropods (Acari, Collembola) to two-age forest regeneration in the southern Appalachians.

Madson, Stephanie^*,1, Coleman, David¹, ¹ Institute of Ecology, Athens, GA

ABSTRACT- Federal agencies managing public forest lands have shifted from clearcutting as the principle method of harvesting. Two-age selection is a forest regeneration practice that has been used as an alternative harvesting method. Few studies have examined the effect of two-age selection on soil microarthropod communities. Previous studies have shown that microarthropods are the most abundant and diverse animals in the forest floor and may indirectly regulate decomposition and nutrient cycling rates through grazing on microbial populations. Clearcutting decreased microarthropod community abundance and diversity. We assessed the response of soil microarthropods to an alternative harvesting method in three two-age regeneration stands and two control stands at Wine Spring Creek Watershed in the southern Appalachians. Microarthropods were extracted using modified Tullgren extractors and sorted to sub-order. Natural spatial heterogeneity in the soil microarthropod communities was high in both the control and cut sites. Microarthropods showed the greatest response to harvesting when examined within microhabitats at the cut sites. Microarthropod abundance was lowest in skid rows and was highest in coppiced microhabitats. Our results indicate that regeneration methods alter the abundance and composition of microarthropod assemblages of the forest floor.

KEY WORDS: forest harvesting, forest soils, oribatids, diversity