Practical 1 Soil ecosystems - soil biota and food webs

Introduction
An ecosystem is made up of plants, animals (biodiversity) and abiotic factors which
work toether to capture, store and transfer enery, nutrients and water! "or
e#ample plants $capture% enery via photosynthesis and enery is stored as
carbohydrates in plants or fats and proteins in animals after they have eaten the
plants! Soil oranisms break down plant and animal tissues and transfer the
enery to themselves, while returnin nutrients to the soil for uptake by plants! &he
many oranisms in an ecosystem carry out these ecosystem functions, and the
more diverse an ecosystem is, the more stable and reliable are these functions!
&he soil provides a ood, easily studied e#ample of an ecosystem!
1.1 'acrofauna accelerate the rate of oranic matter decomposition! &hey
break oranic material into smaller pieces, and mi# oranic matter with soil!
(owever, the relative numbers of macrofauna to microfauna in the soil is small!
procedure
)ollect a sample of the leaf litter (* (ori+on) and topsoil (A (ori+on , no deeper
than about -cm) from two different locations! )hoose from lawn, native veetation,
arden bed, under different species of tree etc! or other distinctive site! Place the
sample in plastic bas, seal them and label them with your name and the collection
location! At each site, record the type of veetation at the site (e! forest, swamp,
lawn etc!) and some of the site characteristics in the table below, then use this to
compare the soil habitat of the two sites! If you do not have the e.uipment
necessary (e! p( kit or soil penetrometer), skip that characteristic!
Site Characteristic Site 1 Site 2
type of veetation
level of shade
soil dryness/dampness
soil p(
soil compactness
soil te#ture (sandy, heavy
clay etc)
*n return to the lab, mi# the soil and leaf litter sample from the same location
thorouhly! Put a known volume of one sample in the &ulren funnel! 0eave it for
about 1 days, then remove the preservin 2ar containin ethanol and screw on the
lid! Place the sample from the second location in the &ulren funnel, and remove
after about 1 days, followin the same procedure! If you know the volume of soil
you e#amined, you will be able to directly compare the macrofauna abundance
between the two sites!
&ulren-type funnels for the e#traction of
soil fauna
1.2 "rom the bas, e#amine a measured volume of the leaf litter (* (ori+on)
and the topsoil (A (ori+on) usin a microscope or hand lense! 3emove any fauna
found to a clean 2ar or petri dish for identification! Identify all oranisms to *rder if
possible, but at least put them into different roups (ie! roup A no les , worms4
roup 5 6 les , spiders and mites etc!)! )ount the number of individuals from
each *rder or roup! If you have lare numbers you may need to estimate the
number rather than try to count them all!
1.3
(a) larer macrofauna
Macrofauna Order
or group
number @ location 1
soil volume = ____
number @ location 2
soil volume = ____
1. 7mpty the contents of the collectin 2ar into a petri dish, and identify as
many oranisms as possible to *rder or roup! )ount the number of individuals
from each *rder or roup (as far as possible)!
(b) smaller macrofauna
Macrofauna Order
or group
number @ location 1
soil volume = ____
number @ location 2
soil volume = ____
1.! 8se the results from both counts (1.2 and 1.3) and calculate the number of
Orders or groups per litre of soil and leaf litter, and the numbers of individuals from
each *rder or roup per litre of soil and leaf litter!
Macrofauna location 1 location 2
number of Orders or groups per litre of

soil/litter
e! no! individuals of roup 5 per litre of

soil/litter19 :
no! individuals of per litre of

soil/litter
no! individuals of per litre of

soil/litter
;our 3eport - 7#plainin the role of the soil biota
;our report should have a title, a brief introduction e#plainin what the prac is
about, and a brief discussion (about <== words) of the followin .uestions!
;ou must also include a summar" table of your results! &his report can be
written as a $.uestion and answer% style, but it must be correctly referenced!
(ow did the diversity (number of roups and number of individuals) of
macrofauna from the soils from the two locations differ > )an you suest why
there miht be differences! ?hat soil parameters could you have measured
which may help e#plain the differences >
7#plain the role of macrofauna in the soil!
*n the food web diaram provided, label the type of biota (e! funi, nematode
etc!)! what they do (predator, leaf shredder etc) and describe which way the
enery $flows% e! where does it first et $captured% and where does it $finish%
(ie! the top of the food chain)! ?hat happens to the enery and nutrients when
the oranisms at the top of the food chain die> Include this diaram with your
report!
?hat roups of oranisms make up the mesofauna > ?hat roups make up the
microfauna> ?hat are the main functions of these two main roups >
"ood webs can indicate the bioloical comple#ity, and therefore the health, of
the soil! 7#plain how our land manaement practices alter soil health!
7#plain how the soil biota contribute to the functionin of the soil ecosystem!
?hat ecosystem services do they reulate >