Ecological function of ants and its implication for ecological restoration of semiarid and arid ecosystems
Received date: 2023-09-26
Revised date: 2023-12-04
Online published: 2024-06-11
The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality is the new hotpot of international ecological research. Ants are of the social insects that harbors the greatest number of individuals in terrestrial ecosystems， and have many ecosystem functionality. However， the ant diversity plays the basic roles in the maintenance of soil ecosystem function， but it is always neglected in ecological research on arid desert ecosystems. Focusing on the relationship between ant biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality in arid ecosystems， ant acts as “ecosystem engineering” that indicates significant effects on soil structure， soil physical-chemical properties， and soil nutrient and energy flow. Then， the interaction of ant and soil biota is observed to be the forcing drivers for the distribution of soil microbiology and soil arthropods. There is also a cascade relation of ants and soil arthropods that is one of the deterministic factors of soil food web. Nevertheless， the ant itself acted as the dominant taxa in soil ecosystems can play implications on soil functionality. In summary， ants acted as “ecosystem engineering” and played important role in soil physical-chemical properties and soil functions. There is a “bottom-up” effect and “top-down” effect of ants on soil biology. The trophic relations of ants to soil biology were the key point of the formation and maintenance of soil biodiversity， and were an important foundation of soil ecosystem functionality. In semiarid and arid regions， the nest-building activities of ants created anthills and had strong effects on soil conditions and soil biodiversity. The ant diversity and its effect on soil biodiversity played important implications on soil multifunctionality， which provided a key basis for ecological restoration of arid ecosystems， ecosystem services and its multiserviceability.
Rentao Liu . Ecological function of ants and its implication for ecological restoration of semiarid and arid ecosystems[J]. Journal of Desert Research, 2024 , 44(3) : 213 -221 . DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2023.00105
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