%0 Journal Article %J Pedobiologia %D 1989 %T Microarthropods in decaying wood from temperate coniferous and deciduous forests %A Seastedt, T.R. %A Reddy, M.V. %A Cline, S.P. %X

Microarthropod population densities in large woody debris increase the decay process. Maximum densities were about 2 X 106 individuals per m3 of wood, but remained 2-10 times lower than population densities found in an equivalent amount of litter and soil from either coniferous or deciduous forests. Oribatid mites are the most abundant microarthropods in wood. Species diversity of all microarthropod groups is lower in decaying wood compared with species numbers in litter and soil. The dominant species in wood appear to be mycophagous; the number of wood-feeding microarthropods composes a small minority of both species and numbers of fauna found in decaying boles. Key words: coniferous forest, decay, decidous forest, population density, microarthropods, mites, Oribatids, species diversity, wood

%B Pedobiologia %V 33 %P 69 -77 %G eng %M KNZ00251