Understanding the recovery of soil macroarthropod communities during natural regrowth is crucial for effective soil restoration. This study investigates the recovery of soil macroarthropod diversity, density, and biomass across different stages of natural regrowth, focusing on both: taxonomic and functional dynamics of groups. Macroarthropod communities were analyzed in a chronosequence from pastures to various stages of natural regrowth (young-age, middle-age, and old-growth). A total of 20 plots and 100 TSBF monoliths at four different soil depth layers were sampled. As expected, results revealed a significant increase in the total macroarthropod diversity, biomass, and density with regrowth, but these do not occur in similar way for all macroarthropod groups or do not occur at all for some groups, emphasizing the complexity of ecological succession. Termites emerged as key ecosystem engineers shaping community composition at each regrowth stage. Predators and decomposers also exhibited significant changes in response to regrowth, reflecting sensitivity to ecological disturbances. In contrast, ants and some herbivores showed higher densities and biomass in pastures and early regrowth stages, with notable shifts in species composition over the time. Vertical distribution of macroarthropod revealed a higher activity at 0-10 cm depth. Macroarthropod composition of litter and at 10-20 cm soil depth was similar, highlighting important macroarthropod activity in the litter and topsoil were mineralization and humification occurs. These findings highlight the critical role of ecosystem engineers in soil restoration and highlight the need for targeted conservation and management strategies to enhance soil health in tropical ecosystems. Including the monitoring of edaphic communities helps to understand the stage of restoration in which the soil is and serves as a support tool for soil restoration
Castro D, Peña-Venegas C, Rodriguez C, Duran-Bautista E, Sterling A (2024) Soil macroarthropod communities of amazon degraded pastures restore differently during their natural regrowth. ARPHA Preprints. https://doi.org/10.3897/arphapreprints.e137026