Soil microarthropod communities of urban green spaces in Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Urbanization fundamentally alters soil physiochemical properties, but little is known on how this human effect alters soil biota. Microarthropods are important bioindicators due to their sedentary life form and sensitivity to environmental changes. Taxonomic richness, abundance, diversity, distribution of microarthropod communities were investigated in three urban land use types, remnant forests, low maintenance grass, highly disturbed open spaces, and were compared to deciduous forest stands outside the city, that served as reference. In general, habitats with more disturbed soil decreased the diversity of mites and springtails compared to the native vegetation sites. The leaf litter layer both in reference and remnant forests benefited the microarthropods through providing food resources and favorable habitats. Among soil properties soil organic carbon and bulk density had significant effects on mites (Acarina), while for springtails (Collembola), soil pH and soil moisture were significant factors. Soil temperature was the common significant constrained variable for both mites and springtails. Our study highlighted the effects of anthropogenic activities, especially that of soil disturbance in cities and the importance of retaining natural vegetation patches in urban green spaces.