Wan Zhuoma, Wu Yunga, Zhang Peng, Xie Zhijing, Wu Donghui, Scheu Stefan
School of Environment Northeast Normal University Changchun China.
Collage of Life Science and Technology Inner Mongolia Normal University Hohhot China.
Ecol Evol. 2025 Sep 25;15(10):e72074. doi: 10.1002/ece3.72074. eCollection 2025 Oct.
In the context of global change, mountain ecosystems are facing more threats than ever. Therefore, understanding spatial distribution patterns of diversity and their driving factors on mountains is gaining increasing attention. Although comprising an essential component of terrestrial ecosystems, the structure of soil fauna communities in mountain ecosystems and their driving factors have been little studied. Changbai Mountain harbors one of the most well-preserved forest ecosystems in the temperate zone. Its high biodiversity provides an ideal setting for investigating biodiversity patterns along elevation gradients. We investigated the diversity, biomass, and community composition of two key soil predator taxa-centipedes and spiders-across eight elevations ranging from 800 to 1850 m a.s.l. Furthermore, we explored correlations between community characteristics and environmental factors. A total of 26 centipede species were identified among 2796 individuals, while 76 spider species were recorded from 2327 individuals. Both centipede and spider richness, biomass, as well as spider density, decreased with increasing elevation. Climatic variables and litter quality were identified as the primary drivers influencing the richness, biomass, and community composition of both taxa. Specifically, changes in temperature and precipitation associated with elevation were identified as the main drivers of changes in diversity, biomass, and community composition. Litter quality, including litter pH, total phosphorus, total carbon, total nitrogen, and N/P ratio, was of secondary importance. Overall, the results provide critical insights into the vulnerability of soil fauna to global climate change and highlight the need for conservation strategies that account for the complex interactions between biodiversity and environmental change.
在全球变化的背景下，山地生态系统正面临着前所未有的更多威胁。因此，了解山地生物多样性的空间分布格局及其驱动因素日益受到关注。尽管土壤动物群落是陆地生态系统的重要组成部分，但山地生态系统中土壤动物群落的结构及其驱动因素却鲜有研究。长白山拥有温带最完好的森林生态系统之一。其高度的生物多样性为研究沿海拔梯度的生物多样性格局提供了理想环境。我们调查了海拔800至1850米的8个海拔梯度上两种关键土壤捕食性类群——蜈蚣和蜘蛛——的多样性、生物量和群落组成。此外，我们还探讨了群落特征与环境因素之间的相关性。在2796个个体中鉴定出26种蜈蚣，在2327个个体中记录到76种蜘蛛。蜈蚣和蜘蛛的丰富度、生物量以及蜘蛛的密度均随海拔升高而降低。气候变量和凋落物质量被确定为影响这两个类群丰富度、生物量和群落组成的主要驱动因素。具体而言，与海拔相关的温度和降水变化被确定为多样性、生物量和群落组成变化的主要驱动因素。凋落物质量，包括凋落物pH值、总磷、总碳、总氮和N/P比，其重要性次之。总体而言，这些结果为土壤动物对全球气候变化的脆弱性提供了关键见解，并突出了制定考虑生物多样性与环境变化之间复杂相互作用的保护策略的必要性。
