Soil fauna and site assessment in beech stands of the Belgian Ardennes

Jean-François Ponge (1) , Pierre Arpin (1) , Francis Sondag (2) , Ferdinand Delecour (3)

1 CESCO - Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la COnservation
2 Laboratoire des Formations Superficielles
3 Science du Sol

Soil fauna (macrofauna and mesofauna) were sampled in 13 beech forest stands of the Ardenne mountains (Belgium) covering a wide range of acidic humus forms. The composition of soil fauna was well correlated not only with humus form, but also with elevation, phytosociological type, tree growth, mineral content of leaf litter, and a few soil parameters such as pH and C/N ratio. The nature of the mechanisms that can explain these relationships is discussed in light of existing knowledge.

Domaines: Science des sols

Jean-François Ponge, Pierre Arpin, Francis Sondag, Ferdinand Delecour. Soil fauna and site assessment in beech stands of the Belgian Ardennes. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 1997, 27 (12), pp.2053-2064. ⟨10.1139/cjfr-27-12-2053⟩. ⟨hal-00505482⟩