Short-term response of spiders， mites and springtails to increased rainfall in arid desert ecosystems

doi:10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2024.00081

Journal of Desert Research ›› 2025, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (1): 141-150.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2024.00081

Short-term response of spiders， mites and springtails to increased rainfall in arid desert ecosystems

Chang Qin¹^,²(), Jiliang Liu², Jialong Ren¹^,², Qihan Yan¹^,², Wenzhi Zhao², Jing Fang², Weidong Xin¹()

^1.College of Geographical Sciences，Shanxi Normal University，Taiyuan 030031，China
^2.Linze Inland River Basin Research Station，Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources，Chinese Academy of Sciences，Lanzhou 730000，China

Received:2024-06-13 Revised:2024-08-30 Online:2025-01-20 Published:2025-01-13
Contact: Weidong Xin

Abstract

Abstract:

Short- and long-term changes in rainfall pulsations can have profound effects on the structure of soil biomes and their functioning in arid and semi-arid zones， and our understanding of how short-term increases in rainfall affect the diversity of desert soil fauna is very limited， and it is not yet clear how short-term increases in rainfall affect the structure of soil fauna and their functioning. In this study， the dynamics of spider， mite and springtail communities were monitored after artificial rainfall simulation experiments （natural rainfall， increased rainfall of 5， 10 and 15 mm）， and statistical methods such as principal response curves and repeated measures analysis of variance （ANOVA） were utilized to determine the short-term response patterns of changes in the abundance and diversity of spiders， mites， and springtails， as well as the interactions among them， in response to the increase in rainfall. The results showed that increased rainfall had a negative effect on the activity density of spiders， but this effect did not significantly reduce the activity density and taxa richness of spiders. Increased rainfall had a positive effect on the activity of medium-sized arthropods and increased with increasing rainfall， increasing rainfall by 15 mm significantly increased the number of springtails captured， and increasing rainfall by 10 mm and 15 mm significantly decreased the number of mites captured. Increased rainfall also decreased the population ratios of spiders and medium-sized soil arthropods and spiders and springtails， and the ratios of mites and springtails decreased significantly with increased rainfall. The number of spiders and mites was significantly and negatively correlated with soil moisture content and the number of springtails was significantly and positively correlated with soil moisture content. In addition， it was found that the ratio of spider and springtail and mite and hopper populations were significantly negatively correlated with soil moisture content. In conclusion， soil moisture changes driven by simulated increases in rainfall increased the number of springtails captures and decreased the number of mite captures， and decreased the predation intensity of spiders and mites on springtail， which could alter the structure of the soil fauna food web and its functioning.

Key words: arid desert, increased rainfall, spiders, medium-sized soil fauna, trophic structure

CLC Number:

Q958.1

Chang Qin, Jiliang Liu, Jialong Ren, Qihan Yan, Wenzhi Zhao, Jing Fang, Weidong Xin. Short-term response of spiders， mites and springtails to increased rainfall in arid desert ecosystems[J]. Journal of Desert Research, 2025, 45(1): 141-150.

Figures/Tables 8

Fig.1 Principal response curves （PRC） diagram showing the response over time of spider community to rainfall addition treatments. Taxon weights indicating the relative contribution of individual species to the community response displayed in the PRC diagram

Fig.2 Comparison of spider abundance and taxa richness under different rainfall addition treatments

Fig.3 Principal response curves （PRC） diagram showing the response over time of mesoarthropod community to rainfall addition treatments. Taxon weights indicating the relative contribution of individual species to the community response displayed in the PRC diagram

Fig.4 Comparison of mesoarthropod abundance and taxa richness under different rainfall addition treatments

Fig.5 Comparison of mite and springtail abundance and taxa richness under different rainfall addition treatments

Fig.6 Ratio of spider， mite， and springtail abundance under different rainfall addition treatments

Table 1 Spearman correlations of the abundance of spiders， mites， and springtails with environmental factors （ n=24）

环境指标	蜘蛛	螨类	跳虫
草本盖度/%	-0.18	-0.02	-0.14
草本物种丰富度	0.09	-0.09	0.26
土壤硬度/mm	-0.23	-0.05	-0.29
土壤容重/（g·cm^-3)	-0.01	-0.18	0.40⁺
土壤含水量/%	-0.45^*	-0.79^***	0.56^**
土壤温度/℃	0.36⁺	0.64^***	-0.73^***

Fig.7 Relationships of the abundance of spiders， mites， and springtails and the ratio of spiders， mites， and springtails with soil water content

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Short-term response of spiders， mites and springtails to increased rainfall in arid desert ecosystems

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