Main Article Content

Authors

The functional diversity and role of soil fauna on litterfall decomposition were studied in a cloud forest located southwest of the Sabana de Bogota. A decomposition experiment was set up, confining 10 g of litterfall in mesh bags. A total of 24 bags was set out, half of which contained naphthalene to avoid the entry of soil fauna. At two, four and 12 months, four bags of the treated litterfall and four of the control were collected. Each bag was placed in a Tullgren funnel to extract the associated soil fauna. This was identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible and classified into functional groups. Richness and diversity were calculated using Shannon and Simpson indices. Litterfall was dried and weighed in order to calculate percent decomposition. in the litterfall treatment there was a reduction in the abundance or absence of soil fauna during the first 60 days due to naphthalene, but there was no difference in percent decomposition between the treatment and control. There  was a greater abundance of detritivores, followed by litter transformers and phytophages over the three sampling periods. Richness, dominance and equitability of functional groups were not different between the litterfall treatment and the control. This suggests that the role of soil fauna in the decomposition of litterfall is less relevant in this forest than lowland forests.

VARELA, A., CORTÉS, C., & COTES, C. (2007). Changes in soil fauna associated with litterfall decomposition in a cloud forest. Revista Colombiana De Entomología, 33(1), 45–53. https://doi.org/10.25100/socolen.v33i1.9315

ADAMS, G. A.; WALL, D. 2000. Biodiversity above and below surface of soils and sediments: linkages and implications for global change. BioScience 50 (12): 1043-1048.

AMAT, G.; SOTO, L. 1988. Efectos del uso actual del suelo sobre la macrofauna edáfica en la región del Guëjar (Reserva Natural Integral La Macarena, Meta). Pérez-Arbelaezia 2 (67): 44-67.

ANDERSON, J. M.; SWIFT, M. J. 1983. Decomposition in tropical forest, pp. 547-569. En: Sutton, S. L.; Whitmore, T. C.; Chadwick, A. C. (eds.). Tropical rain forest: ecology and management. Elsevier. New York, U.S.A. 714 p.

BATER, J. E. 1996. Microand Macro-arthropods, pp. 163174. En: Hall, G. S. (ed.). Methods for the examination of organismal diversity in soils and sediments. Cab International. United Kingdom. 307 p.

BLAIR, J. M.; CROSSLEY, D. A., Jr. 1988. Litter decomposition, nitrogen dynamics and litter microarthropods in a southern Appalachian hardwood forest 8 years following clearcutting. Journal of Applied Ecology 25: 683-698.

BRUSSAARD, L. 1998. Soil fauna, guilds, functional groups and ecosystem processes. 1998. Applied Soil Ecology 9: 123-135.

BRUSSAARD, L.; BEHAN-PELLETI ER, V. M.; BIGNELL , D. E.; BROWN, V. K.; DIDDEN, W. A. M.; FOLGARAIT , P. I.; FRAGOSO, C.; FRECKMAN, D. W.; GUPTA, V. V. S. R; HATTORI , T.; HAWKSWORT H, D.; KLOPATEK, C.; LAVELL E, P.; MALL OCH, D.; RUSEK, J.; SÖDERSTR ÖM, B.; TI EDJE, J. M.; VIRGINIA, R. A. 1997. Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in soil. Ambio 26: 563-570.

CARO, O. 2002. Análisis comparativo de la estructura y composición de la vegetación entre áreas de bosque andino fragmentado y no fragmentado en el borde suroccidental de la Sabana de Bogotá (Cundinamarca-Colombia). Trabajo para obtener el título de Ecóloga. Facultad de Estudios Ambientales y Rurales, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. Bogotá, D. C. 91 p.

CARRIZOZA, U. J. 1990. La selva Andina, pp. 151-184. En: Carrizoza, U. J.; Hernández, C. (eds.). Selva y Futuro. El Sello Editores. Bogotá, Colombia.

CASTELLANOS, M. L.; PARDO, L. C.; CARABALÍ, A.; DORIA, C. 2003. Algunas características de la macrofauna del suelo en la Serranía de la Macuira, Guajira, Colombia. Suelos Ecuatoriales 33 (2): 157-161.

CAVELIER, J.; LIZCAÍNO, D.; PULIDO, M.T. 2001. Colombia, pp. 443-496. En: Kapelle, M.; Brown, A. D. (eds.). Bosques nublados del Neotrópico. INBio, FUA, NC-UICN, UVA, LI EY. San José. Costa Rica. 698 p.

CEPEDA, J. 2006. Distribución altitudinal de microartópodos edáficos, pp. 123-147. En: Cepeda, J. (ed.). Geoecología de los Andes desérticos. La Alta Montaña del Valle del Elqui. Ediciones Universidad de La Serena. Santiago de Chile, Chile. 351 p.

COLEMAN, D.; CROSSLEY, D. A., Jr. 1996. Fundamentals of soil ecology. Academic Press. San Diego, U.S.A. 205 p.

CORTET, J.; JOFFRE, R.; ELMHOLT, S.; KROGH, H. P. 2003. Increasing species and trophic diversity of mesofauna affects fungal biomass, mesofauna community structure and organic matter decomposition. Biology and Fertility of Soils 37 (5): 302-312.

CUATRECASAS, J. 1958. Aspectos de la vegetación natural de Colombia. Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales 10 (2): 221-264.

DUFFY, J. E. 2002. Biodiversity and ecosystem function: the consumer connection. Oikos 99: 201-219.

FABER, J. H. 1991. Functional classification of soil fauna: a new approach. Oikos 62 (1): 110-117.

FAHRI G, L. 2003. Effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 34: 487-515.

GONZÁLEZ, X.; GONZÁLEZ, L.; VARELA, A. 1999. Incidencia de la cobertura vegetal sobre poblaciones de bacterias nitrificantes autótrofas en un fragmento de bosque andino. Suelos Ecuatoriales 29 (1): 83-88.

GROFFMAN, P. M.; BOHLEN, P. J. 1999. Soil and sediment biodiversity: cross-system comparisons and large-scale effects. BioScience 49: 139-148.

HAMILT ON, L. S.; JUVIK, J. O.; SCATENA, F. N. 1995. The Puerto Rico Tropical Cloud Forest Symposium: Introduction and Workshop Synthesis, pp. 1-37. En: Tropical Montane Cloud Forest. Hamilton, L.S., J.O. Juvik; Scatena, F. N. (eds.). Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.

HECTOR, A.; SCHMI D, B.; BEIERKUHNLEIN, C.; CALDEIR A, M. C.; DIEMER, M.; DIMITR AKOPOULOS, P. G.; FINN, J. A.; FREIT AS, H.; GILL ER, P. S.; GOOD, J.; HARRI S, R.; HÖGBERG, P.; HUSS-DANELL , K.; JOSHI, J.; JUMPPONEN, A.; KÖRNER, C.; LEADLEY, P. W.; LOREAU, M.; MI NNS, A.; MULDER, C. P. H.; O’DONNOVAN.; OTWAY, S. J.; PEREIR A, J. S.; PRI NZ, A.; READ, D. J.; SCHERER-LORENZEN, M; SCHULZE, E. D.; SIAMANTZIOURAS, A. S. D.; SPEHN, E. M.; TERR Y, A. C.; TR OUMBIS, A. Y.; WOODWARD, F. I.; YAHCI, S.; LAWTON, J. H. 1999. Plant diversity and productivity experiments in European grasslands. Science 286: 1123-1127.

HEEMSBERGEN, D. A.; BERG, M. P.; LOREAU, M.; VAN HAL, J. R.; FABER, J. H.; VERHOEF, H. A. 2004. Biodiversity effects on soil processes explained by interspecific functional diversity. Science 306: 1019-1020.

HENEGHAN, L., COLEMAN, D. C., CROSSLEY, D. A.; ZOU, N. 1999a. Nitrogen dynamics in decomposing chesnut oak (Quercus prinus L.) in mesic temperate and tropical forest. Applied Soil Ecology 13: 169-175.

HENEGHAN, L., COLEMAN, D. C., ZOU, X., CROSSLEY, D. A., HAINES, B. L. 1999b. Soil microarthropod contributions to decomposition dynamics: Tropical-temperate comparisons of a single substrate. Ecology 80: 1873-1882.

HUSTON, M. A.; AARSSEN, L. W.; AUSTIN, M. P.; CADE, B. S.; FRIDLEY, J. D.; GARNIER, E.; GRIM E, J. P.; HODGSON, J.; LAUENROTH, W. K.; THOMPSON, K.; VANDEMEER, J. H.; WARDLE, D. A. 2000. No consistent effect of plant diversity on productivity. Science 289: 1255.

ILANGOVAN, M.; PALI WAL, K. 1996. Changes in mass and nutrient during decomposition of Leucaena leucocephala 52 Revista Colombiana de Entomología weather variables on mass loss during decomposition in a semi-arid ecosystem, Madurai, India. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 8 (3): 317-332.

Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales (IDEAM). 2004. Datos de precipitación y temperatura estación Acapulco (No. 2120828). Bogotá, D.C. Colombia.

Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi (IGAC). 1985. Estudio general de suelos de los sectores sur y suroeste del Departamento de Cundinamarca. Subdirección Agrológica. Bogotá, D. E.

JOFFRE, R.; ǺGREN, G. 2001. From plant to soil: litter production and decomposition, pp. 83-99. En: Roy, J.; Saugier, B.; Mooney, H. A. (eds.). Global terrestrial productivity: past, present, future. Academic Press. San Diego. California. 237 p.

JOHNSON, K. H.; VOGT, K. A.; CLARK, H. J.; SCHMIT Z, O. J.; VOGT, D. J. 1996. Biodiversity and the productivity and stability of ecosystems. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 11: 372-377.

KUITERS, A. T. 1990. Role of phenolic substances from decomposing forest litter in plant soil interactions. Acta Botany Neerlandica 39: 329-348.

LAGERL ÖF, J.; ANDRÉN, O. 1985. Succession and activity of microarthropods and enchytraeids during barley straw decomposition. Pedobiologia 28: 343-357.

LAMBERS, H.; CHAPIN III, F. S.; PONS, T. L. 1998. Plant physiological ecology. Second edition. Springer-Verlag. New York, U.S.A. 540 p.

LAVELLE, P. 1997. Faunal activities and soil processes: adaptative strategies that determine ecosystem function. Advances in Ecological Research 27: 93-102.

LAVELLE, P.; BLANCHART, E.; MARTIN, A.; MARTIN, S. 1993. A hierarchical model for decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: application to soils of the humid tropics. Biotropica 25 (2): 130-150.

LAVELLE, P.; CAHUVEL, A.; FRAGOSO, C. 1995. Faunal activity in acid soils, pp. 201-211. En: Date, R. A.; Grundon, N. J.; Rayment, G. E.; Probert, M. E. (eds.). Plantsoil interactions at low pH: principles and management (developments in plant and soil sciences). Kluwer Academic Publishers. Netherlands. 415 p.

LEAKY, R. J. G.; PROCTOR, J. 1987. Invertebrates in the litter and soil at a range of altitudes in Gunung Silam, a small ultrabasic mountain in Sabah. Journal of Tropical Ecology 3: 119-129.

LEVINGS, S. C.; WINDSOR, D. M. 1985. Seasonal and annual variation in litter arthorpod populations, pp. 355-387. En: Leigh, E. G.; Rand, A. S.; Windsor, D. M. The Ecology of a Tropical Forest: seasonal rythms and long-term changes. Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington, U.S.A. 432 p.

LIIRI, M.; SETÄLÄ, H.; PENNANEN, T.; FRITZE, H. 2002. Relationship between soil microarthropod species diversity and plant growth does not change when the system is disturbed. Oikos 96: 137-149.

LIU, W.; FOX, J.E.; XU, Z. 2000. Leaf litter decomposition of canopy trees, bamboo and moss in a montane moist evergreen broad-leaved forest on Ailao Mountain, Yunnan, south-west China. Ecological Research 15: 435-447.

MAGURRAN, A. E. 2004. Measuring biological diversity. Blackwell Publishing. Malden, U.S.A. 256 p.

MELILLO, J. M., ABER, J. D.; MURATORE, J. F. 1982. Nitrogen and lignin control of hardwood leaf litter decomposition dynamics. Ecology 63: 621-626.

MENDOZA, J. E. 1999. Análisis multitemporal (1940-1996) del cambio de la cobertura vegetal en dos áreas del bosque suroccidental de la Sabana de Bogotá, Cundinamarca, Colombia. Trabajo de grado como requisito parcial para optar por el título de Biólogo. Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. Bogotá, D.C. 128 p.

OSLER, G. H. R.; GAUCE, C. S.; ABBOTT, L. K. 2004. Limited evidence for short-term succession of microarthropods during early phases of surface litter decomposition. Pedobiologia 48: 37-49.

QUIJANO, S. A.; ALZATE, C. P.; CIPAGAUTA, M.; GÓMEZ, J. E. 2000. Comparación de la fauna edáfica asociada a diferentes coberturas vegetales en algunos ultisoles del Caquetá, Colombia. Suelos Ecuatoriales 30 (1): 93-98.

SANTOS, P. F.; WHITFORD, W. G. 1981. The effects of microarthropods on litter decomposition in a Chiauhuan desert ecosystem. Ecology 62: 654-663.

SANTOS, P. F.; WHIT FORD, W. G. 1983a. Seasonal and spatial variation in the soil microarthropod fauna of the White Sands National Monument. The Southwestern Naturalist 28 (4): 417-421.

SANTOS, P. F.; WHITFORD, W. G. 1983b. The influence of soil biota on decomposition of plant material in a gypsum sand dune habitat. The Southwestern Naturalist 28 (4): 423-427.

SEASTEDT, T. R. 1984. The role of microarthropods in decomposition and mineralization processes. Annual Review of Entomology 29: 25-46.

SEASTEDT, T. R.; CROSSLEY, D. A., Jr. 1983. Nutrients in forest litter treated with naphthalene and simulated throughfall: a field microcosm study. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 15: 159-165.

SIEGEL, S.; CASTELL AN, N. J. 1995. Estadística no paramétrica aplicada a las ciencias de la conducta. Cuarta edición. Editorial Trillas. México, D. F., México. 437 p.

SIEPEL, H. 1990. Decomposition of leaves of Avenella flexuosa and microarthropod succession in grazed and ungrazed grasslands. Pedobiologia 34: 19-30.

SKOOG, D.A.; WEST, D. M. 1983. Análisis instrumental. Nueva Editorial Interamericana. México, D.F., México. 718 p.

SOKAL, R. R., ROHLF, F. J. 2001. Biometry. The principles and practice of statistics in biological research. Third edition, W.H. Freeman and Company. New York, U.S.A. 887 p.

STATSOFT, Inc. 2000. STATISTI CA for Windows [computer program manual]. Tulsa, OK: Statsoft, Inc., 2300 East 14th Street, Tulsa, OK 74104.

SWIFT, M. J.; MEAL, O. W.; ANDERSON, J. M. 1979. Decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. Blackwell Scientific Publications. Oxford, U.S.A. 371 p.

VARELA, A. 2004. Efecto de la fragmentación sobre la producción y descomposición de hojarasca en bosque altoandino nublado: patrones, mecanismos y modelos. Tesis para optar al título de Doctora en Ciencias Biológicas. Facultad de Ciencias. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. 330 p.

VERHOEF, H. A.; BRUSSARD, L. 1990. Decomposition and nitrogen mineralization in natural and agroecosystems: the contribution of soil animals. Biogeochemistry 11: 175-211.

VREEKEN-BRUIJS, M. J.; BRUSSAARD, L. 1996. Soil mesofauna dynamics, wheat residue decomposition and nitrogen mineralization in buried litter bags. Biology and Fertility of Soils 23: 374-381.

WALL, D. H. 1999. Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. BioScience 49: 107-108.

WALL, D. H.; VIRGINIA, R. A. 1999. Controls on soil Amanda Varela y cols. and Cymbopogon citrates and the effect of substrate quality, Edafofauna en descomposición 53 biodiversity: insights from extreme environments. Applied Soil Ecology 13: 137-150.

WALL, D. H.; VIR GINIA, R. A. 2000. The world beneath our feet: soil biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, pp. 225241. En: Raven, P. R.; Williams T. (eds.). Nature and human society: the quest for a sustainable world. National Academy of Sciences and National Research Council, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. 450 p.

WALL , D. H., BARDGETT , R. D., COVICH, A. P., SNELGROVE, P. V. R. 2004. The need for understanding how biodiversity and ecosystem functioning affect ecosystem services in soils and sediments, pp. 1-12. En: Wall, D. H. (ed.). Sustaining biodiversity and ecosystem services in soils and sediments. Island Press. Washington, D.C., U.S.A. 275 p.

WEBSTER, G. L. 1995. The panorama of Neotropical cloud forests, pp. 53-78. En: Churchill, S. P.; Balslev, H.; Forero, E.; Luteyn, J. L. (eds.). Biodiversity and conservation of Neotropical montane forests. The New York Botanical Garden. New York, U.S.A. 702 p.