Arid Zone Research ›› 2021, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (3): 867-874.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2021.03.28

• Ecology and Environment • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of climatic factors on litter decomposition and soil fauna in arid regions

ZHANG Anning(),LIU Rentao(),CHEN Wei,CHANG Haitao,JI Xueru   

  1. Breeding Base for State Key Laboratory of Land Degradation and Ecological Restoration in Northwestern China, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, Ningxia, China
  • Received:2020-09-01 Revised:2020-11-16 Online:2021-05-15 Published:2021-06-17
  • Contact: Rentao LIU E-mail:nxuzan@126.com;nxuliu2012@126.com

Abstract:

Detritus food webs dominated by soil fauna were the main method of litter decomposition and nutrient release, which plays a crucial role in maintaining the biogeochemical cycle and stability of fragile ecosystems. It was an interesting topic regarding the research on the effect of climate change on litter decomposition in arid and semi-arid regions. Climate change may have an important impact on litter decomposition, soil fauna, and related factors. However, there is no systematic summary of the underling mechanism. This review based on relevant literature at home and abroad, summarizes the impact of climate change (temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation) on litter decomposition, the impact of climate change (temperature and precipitation) on soil fauna, and impact of climate change on the relationship between litter decomposition and soil fauna. It was suggested that climate change affects the correlation between litter decomposition and soil fauna regarding changes in environmental factors and litter quality. We proposed that the following prospects should be paid more attention in the future: (1) large-scale and long-term research, as well as strict control experimental setup; (2) functional traits of soil fauna; (3) ecological functioning of soil fauna on litter decomposition. It is suggested that the litter and soil fauna ecological research should give more attention to the interaction of environmental factors under climate change, the variations of litter decomposition at different spatial scales, and model establishment.

Key words: arid and semi-arid regions, climate change, litter decomposition, soil fauna