Abstract:

A preliminary investigation on the characteristics of animals in the soil of Huangshan forests was conducted. Invertebrates included 33 genera in 11 classes and 5 phyla, among which Acarina, Collembola and Nematoda were dominant groups, occupied 88.21% of the total samples, and formed the main body of the forest soil animal community. The others included common groups and rare groups, respectively accounting for 5.85% and 5.98%. It is warm and humid in the mid-subtropical region of China, covered with lush vegetation has and with an abundant resource of animals in the soil underneath. Soil animal abundance was affected by a number of factors, among which vegetation and soil types are the main limiting factors. Based on data collected from 4 sample sites the evergreen broad-leaved forest and the conifer-broad leaved mixed forest had the highest average density of soil animals, rearching up to 68.80 and 66.53 10⁴·m^-3, respectively, while the artificial coniferous forest had the lowest density, with only 36.43 10⁴·m^-3.The vertical distribution of animals in the soil was closely related with the surface accumulation of organic matter and the vertical variation of soil physiochemical characteistics. The results showed the soil animals were mainly distributed in litter and humus layers, and obviously accumulated on of the soil surface and sharply decreased downward.

Key words: Huangshan, soil animal community, biodiversity, artificial conifer forest, soil profile