[Applications of stable isotope techniques in the studies of soil collembolan: a review].

The development and application of stable isotope techniques is one of the most important progress in ecological methodologies in the 1990s. Many ecological processes are accompanied with the changes of stable isotopes ratio. According to these changes, the material circulation and energy flow of ecosystems can be followed. In recent years, many researchers introduced stable isotope techniques in soil ecology to study the soil carbon cycle and the trophic relationships between soil organisms, which greatly improved our understanding on belowground ecosystem. As for collembolan, one of the most important members of soil animals, its feeding habits and trophic position in soil ecosystem are little known. Stable isotope techniques provide a useful approach to study the food resources, trophic position, and trophic relationships of collembolan. This paper summarized the applications of stable isotope techniques in the studies of the feeding habits and trophic position of collembolan, and discussed the deficiencies and prospects of related researches.