New and newly recorded species of the subgenus Flagellozetes(Cosmogalumna)(Acari:Oribatida:Galumnidae) from China

Material and methods Soil sample were collected by soil-corer and afterwards extracted using Tullgren funnels. Measurements and descriptions are based on specimens mounted in temporary cavity slides and studied using a light microscope equipped with a drawing tube. All body measurements are presented in micrometers. The body length was measured in lateral view, from the tip of the rostrum to the posterior edge of the ventral plate, to avoid discrepancies caused by different degrees of notogastral distension. Notogastral width refers to the maximum width in dorsal aspect. Lengths of body setae were measured in lateral aspect. Formulas for leg setation are given in parentheses according to the sequence trochanter-femur-genu-tibia-tarsus （famulus included）.

One new species in the genus Eremobelba(Acari:Oribatida: Eremobelbidae) from China

One new species in the genus Eremobelba Berlese, 1908, extracted from soil, is described from Liaoning Province, China： Eremobelba eharai sp. nov. The new species is similar to E.japonica Aoki, 1959 but differs from the latter by the following. This new species is yellow and covered by shallow ornamentation, while E. japonica is brown and covered by strong ornamentation. The new species epimeral chaetotaxy is 2-1-3-3, epimeral setae are simple or bear long branches, while in E. japonica the epimeral chaetotaxy is 2-1-3-2 and all epimeral setae bearing long branches. The new species length of prodorsal setae is in 〈 ro 〈 le, while in E. japonica the length of the prodorsal setae is le 〈 ro 〈 in. In this new species, ventral setae show different types, simple or bearing 2-4 long branches at the basis, while in E. japonica the ventral setae are all simple.

Spatiotemporal Variations of Soil Microarthropod Communities in the Negev Desert

Desert ecosystems are characterized by sparse vegetation that affects both abiotic parameters and soil biota along the soil profile. This study was conducted in 2010-2011 in a loess plain in the northern Negev Desert highlands, Israel, to test two main hypotheses： 1） the abundance and diversity of microarthropods would vary seasonally in the top 30-cm soil layer, but would be relatively stable at soil depths between 30 and 50 cm and 2） soil microarthropods would be more abundant in soils under shrubs with large litter accumulations than under shrubs with less litter or bare soil. Soil samples were collected each season from the 0-50 cm profile at 10-cm intervals under the canopies of Hammada scoparia and Zygophyllum dumosum and from the bare interspa^es between them. Soil moisture and soil organic carbon in the top 30-cm layers varied seasonally, but there was little variation in the soil layers deeper than 30 cm. Soil mites were most abundant in the top 30-cm soil layer in autumn and winter, with the highest number of families found in winter. There were no differences in soil microarthropod abundance attributable to the presence or absence of shrubs of either species. The microarthropod communities of the microhabitats studied consisted of Acari, Psocoptera, and Collembola. The Acari were mostly identified to the family level and were dominated by Oribatida （55%） and Prostigmata （41%） in all seasons and microhabitats, while the psocopterans were most abundant in summer. These results are opposite to those obtained in other studies in similar xeric environments. Moreover, our findings were not in line with our hypothesis that a better microhabitat played a major role in microarthropod community composition, diversity, and density.

Response of soil mite abundance and diversity to a monospecific timber Tectona grandis plantation in Ivory Coast

This study aims to assess the impact of monospecific Tectona grandis forest plantation on the soil mite abundance and diversity. To achieve these objectives, two sites situated in Ivory Coast were investigated. The first, a primary forest was characterized by a very weak human activities whereas the second, a teak plantation was characterized by a high disturbance performed during the planting. After extracting, sorted and description, 116 mite species were described in the two sites. Mite densities were lower in teak plantation and also higher in the litter and decreased to the depth in both sites. Species richness re- corded in teak plantation （52 species） was significantly lower compared to primary forest （98 species）. The same trend was ob- served for Oribatida but not for Gamasida. The lower Oribatida （5 vs. 17） and higher Oribatida （24 vs. 41） were recorded respec- tively in teak plantation and primary forest. Mite Shannon index and evenness were significantly different between sites. High Jaccard index values and the appearance of exclusive species in both habitats showed that the sites are very distinct. Total number of species recorded corresponded to 58%-63% of the total number of species estimated by ACE and Chao 1＆2 estimators, indi- cating that the sampling effort was not sufficient. Mite abundance and diversity varied depending on the characteristics of habi- tats. Chemical element （Corn, Ctot, Ntot, and SOM） values were lower in teak plantation （disturbed habitat） and significantly dif- ferent to primary forest in the topsoil. Apart from litter height, soil depth, pH and C/N ratio, others variables were strongly corre- lated to mite abundance and diversity [Current Zoology 59 （5）： 633-643, 2013].

Belowground Tritrophic Food Chain Modulates Soil Respiration in Grasslands

Edaphic biota significantly affects several essential ecological functions such as C-storage, nutrient turnover, and productivity.However, it is not completely understood how belowground animal contribution to these functions changes in grasslands subject to different land use types. A microcosm experiment was carried out to test the effect of a tritrophic food chain on CO_2 release from grassland soils. Soil was collected from three differently managed grassland systems(meadow, pasture, and mown pasture) located in three distinct German regions that cover a north-south gradient of approximately 500 km. The tritrophic food chain comprised natural edaphic microflora, nematodes, and predatory gamasid mites. The experimental design involved a full factorial combination of the presence and absence of nematodes and gamasid mites. Nematodes significantly increased the CO_2 emissions in most treatments,but the extent of this effect varied with land use type. The fact that grazing by nematodes stimulated the metabolic activity of the edaphic microflora over a wide range of grassland soils highlighted the critical impact of the microfauna on ecosystem services associated with soil organic matter dynamics. Gamasids slightly amplified the effect of nematodes on microbial metabolic activity,but only in the pastures. This effect was most probably due to the control of nematode abundance. The fact that gamasid addition also augmented the impact of environmental conditions on nematode-induced modulation of soil respiration highlighted the need for including land use differences while evaluating soil fauna contribution to soil processes. To conclude, the differential response of the investigated tritrophic food chain to different grassland management systems suggests that adverse effects of land use intensification on important soil processes such as atmospheric C-release could potentially be reduced by using management methods that preserve essential features of the belowground food web.