『Abstract
The contributions of soil macroinvertebrates such as earthworms
and termites to soil structure and nutrient cycling are well recognized,
but few studies examined the influence of geophagous millipedes
on soil nutrients and structure. We conducted a soil incubation
experiment to evaluate the effects of the train millipede (Parafontaria
laminata), which is endemic to central Japan, on N mineralization,
N2O emissions, and aggregation in soils.
Larvae of P. laminata significantly increased development
of soil aggregates >2 mm during the 28-day incubation experiment.
This soil aggregation was attributed to fecal pellets and molting
chamber walls of P. laminata larvae. N mineralization,
nitrification, and N2O-N emissions were also
promoted by P. laminata, although these changes in N dynamics
did not result in changes in the total amounts of C and N in the
soil. N mineralization and N2O-N emissions
were positively correlated with the amount of large (>2 mm) soil
aggregates. These correlations indicate that the biogenic structure
produced by P. laminata significantly influences soil N
dynamics, and suggest that the soil micro-environment associated
with large aggregates promotes microbial processes related to
N dynamics, especially N2O production.
Keywords: Larch forest soil; N mineralization; N2O
emission; Soil aggregation; Train millipede (Parafontaria laminata)』
1. Introduction
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Feeding experiments with millipede larvae
2.2. Statistical analyses
3. Results
4. Discussion
4.1. Aggregate formation
4.2. N dynamics in fresh millipede-worked soil
Acknowledgments
References