Faculty of Natural Resources & Marine Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, 46417-76489, Noor, Mazandaran, Iran.
Sci Total Environ. 2022 Jul 15;830:154827. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154827. Epub 2022 Mar 24.
Soil biological properties are good indicators for the evaluation of soil quality, introduced as key indicators in soil health, which is in line with the nutrient cycles in terrestrial ecosystems. To the best of the authors' knowledge, responses of belowground biota to habitat degradation have received little attention. The present study aimed to study the effect of different intensities of vegetation degradation [heavy (0-10% coverage), moderate (30-40% coverage) and light (60-70% coverage)] and non-degraded sites (as control; 90-100% coverage) in lands covered by Crataegus and Berberis shrubs on soil fauna, microbiota and microbial activities in the north of Iran. From each of these sites, 45 soil (30 × 30 cm area) samples were taken from 0 to 10 cm, 10-20 cm and 20-30 cm depths and 180 samples were transferred to the laboratory. According to principal component analysis, the studied habitats can be distinguished based on soil health and functional characteristics. In this regard, due to the more fertile soil in ecosystems without degradation, highest soil biological activities belonged to these areas. Following the increase in the intensity of degradation, the population of soil organisms and microbial activities are suppressed due to reduction of organic matter inputs, unsuitable soil microclimate, increase in soil erosion and finally depletion of soil nutrients. The results of this study indicate the dependence of soil quality on aboveground vegetation cover, especially in the topsoil, so the vegetation degradation can cause severe damages to soil health in semi-arid regions.
土壤生物特性是评估土壤质量的良好指标，被引入土壤健康的关键指标中，符合陆地生态系统的养分循环。据作者所知，地下生物对生境退化的响应受到的关注较少。本研究旨在研究不同强度的植被退化（重度（0-10%覆盖）、中度（30-40%覆盖）和轻度（60-70%覆盖））和未退化地点（对照；90-100%覆盖）对伊朗北部覆盖着山楂和小檗灌木的土地上土壤动物区系、微生物区系和微生物活性的影响。从这些地点的每个地点，从 0 到 10 厘米、10-20 厘米和 20-30 厘米的深度采集 45 个土壤（30×30 厘米面积）样本，共采集了 180 个样本送到实验室。根据主成分分析，可以根据土壤健康和功能特性来区分研究的栖息地。在这方面，由于无退化生态系统中的土壤更加肥沃，因此这些地区的土壤生物活性最高。随着退化强度的增加，由于有机物质输入减少、土壤微气候不适宜、土壤侵蚀增加以及土壤养分最终耗尽，土壤生物的种群和微生物活性受到抑制。本研究的结果表明，土壤质量依赖于地上植被覆盖，特别是在表土中，因此植被退化会对半干旱地区的土壤健康造成严重破坏。
