Relationships between resource dynamics associated with the spatial structure of forests and arthropod communities in the canopy and soil strata in relation to ecosystem functioning in forests

研究了柳杉人工林林冠层和土壤凋落物中树栖线虫的时空分布和生命周期。从林冠凋落物中提取了6种乔木类化合物。根据密度和生命周期的季节变化，将其分为冠层和土壤凋落物均采集的种和冠层凋落物均采集的种。垂直分布和季节分布特征表明，树栖石斛具有不同种的时空分布特征。三种优势种的大小分布表明，它们具有不同的年龄结构，且年龄结构对森林垂直结构的响应不同。因此，凋落物和小节肢动物群落在冠层和土壤中的时空格局表明，群落通过对森林的小气候条件制定策略，有效地利用了森林的垂直结构。研究了日本亚热带森林不同生境结构特征对节肢动物群落结构和多样性的影响。本文研究了含有大量凋落物的鸟巢蕨类植物（Asplenium nidus complex）和甲螨组成的生态系统，重点探讨了维持甲螨多样性的模式和机制。在80个样本中，在不含蕨类植物的假设林分中估计出的甲虫种类约为180种；该值与另一种蕨类植物（190种）的假设林分差异不显著。因此，整个森林的甲虫群落的物种丰富度不受蕨类植物存在与否的影响。然而，由于燕窝蕨类特有的几种甲虫，它们的存在可能使多种生物共存，并可能增强该亚热带森林的整体生物多样性。少

Spatiotemporal distribution and the life cycles of arboreal collembolans were investigated in the canopy and soil litter of a Cryptomeria japonica plantation. Six arboreal collembolans were extracted from the canopy litter. From the results of the seasonal changes in the densities and the life cycles of the collembolans, they were divided into two groups : species collected from both the canopy and soil litter, and species only collected from the canopy litter. The vertical and seasonal distributions indicated that the arboreal collembolans had species-specific spatiotemporal patterns. The size distributions of three dominant species suggest that they had different age structures that change differently in response to the vertical structure of the forest. Thus, spatiotemporal patterns of litter and microarthropod commnities in the canopy and soil indicated that the communities would use effectively vertical structure of the forest by having a strategy for the microclimatic conditions i … More n the forest.We also examined how the structural traits of diverse habitats in forests can affect structure and diversity of arthropod communities at the whole-forest scale in a subtropical forest, Japan. We investigated a system comprising bird's nest ferns (Asplenium nidus complex), which hold large amounts of litter inside, and oribatid mites, and focused on the patterns and mechanisms which can sustain oribatid diversity. The number of oribatid species estimated for a hypothetical stand with no fern was about 180 species from 80 samples ; this value did not differ significantly from that in another hypothetical stand with ferns (190 species). Thus, the species richness of oribatid communities estimated for the whole forest was not affected by the presence/absence of the ferns. However, because there were several oribatid species specific to bird's nest ferns, the existence of the ferns may enable diverse organisms to coexist and may enhance the whole biodiversity in this subtropical forest. Less