Tiny soil critters play by their own rules in urban parks

by Krishna Ramanujan, Cornell University
October 21, 2024

The assortment of species of tiny soil animals – small enough to stand on the head of a pin – differ from one urban park to another, unlike plants and larger animals where a few species are often found across many parks. This suggests that park managers should tailor management strategies to achieve better soil health, according to a published study of parks in Rochester, New York.

These soil creatures, including mites and springtails, collectively known as microarthropods, are a critical link in soil food webs. They eat microbes and are prey for larger organisms. They also cycle nutrients and carbon within the ecosystem, especially carbon, as they disperse nutrients back in the soil when they die. Their abundance and diversity can serve as a bellwether of the overall health of a soil ecosystem.

The paper, “Soil Animal Communities Demonstrate Simplification Without Homogenization Along an Urban Gradient,” published Oct. 16 in the journal Ecological Applications.

The presence of concrete, buildings and people often reduce the biodiversity of larger animals and plants; the same few species are likely found across many places along the urban landscape. The authors expected similar results for microarthropods in urban parks, but instead found that species diversity and community composition differed from one park to another.

Keep reading: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2024/10/tiny-soil-critters-play-their-own-rules-urban-parks

Read the Ecological Applications paper: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eap.3039