Abstract:

In order to study effect of type of woodland (Quercus variabilis, Populus spp. and Paulownia fortune) on species diversity of soil mesofauna in Gongyi, samples of soil mesoanimals were collected from the woodlands for analysis of variation of the soil mesofauna with the season and type of woodland in diversity. Results show that the woodlands different in type did not differ much in soil fauna diversity, analysis using the non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (NMDS) method reveals that Quercus variabilis varied sharply from Paulownia fortunei and Populus spp. In soil fauna community structure in spring and summer, while Paulownia fortune did not vary much from Populus spp.; and soil fauna diversity differed significantly between spring and summer (P<0.001),but not much between woodlands different in type (P>0.05). It was also found that elevation and height of herbosa did not have much effect on soil fauna diversity, but coverage of herbosa was negatively related to soil fauna diversity (P<0.05). The existence of soil fauna accelerates decomposition of woodland litters, and then promotes energy flow and material circulation in the woodland. At the same time, different types of woodland provide different types of habitats suitable for different types of soil fauna communities to inhabit and prey in. It is, therefore, very important to strengthen the protection of different types of woodlands for the development of soil fauna therein and bio-material flow in farming landscapes.

Key words: soil mesofauna, richness, Shannon diversity, woodland type, Gongyi City