Urbanization and urban habitat fragmentation do not compromise soil food
web complexity and conservation value
Abstract
Urbanization-induced environmental changes such as habitat fragmentation
impacts arthropod assemblages and food web-related ecosystem functions,
such as nutrient cycling, carbon storage and energy fluxes. Yet, we lack
insight into how arthropod food webs are structured along urban
fragmentation gradients. Here, we investigated the community composition
and food web structure of litter-dwelling arthropods along fragmentation
gradients (green median strip, urban park, urban forest and natural
forest). We found the density of litter-dwelling arthropods in median
strip and urban park to be two to four times higher than in urban and
natural forests, with, as indicated by literature-based stable isotope
values, 67% - 68% of the individuals comprising primary consumers
(trophic level I) in median strip and urban park. Urban forests,
reserved for biodiversity conservation, hosted the least arthropod
density, taxa richness, biomass and body mass, but were colonized by a
high number of specialist arthropods, e.g. Archaeognatha and Isoptera.
Food webs were most simple in urban forest, but more complex in median
strip and urban parks, i.e. open fragments, with abundant primary and
secondary consumers including decomposers. Chilopoda and Araneae formed
the apex predators in fragments and mostly consumed other predators of
trophic level III. The biomass of decomposed litter on the soil surface
as major resource of the soil animal community significantly correlated
positively with the density of arthropods of trophic levels I, III and
IV. Supporting the dominance of bottom-up forces, the density of
adjacent trophic levels consistently correlated positively. Overall, our
results suggest that small size urban fragments maintain a diverse
community of arthropods forming complex food webs and thereby may
contribute to conserving biodiversity and providing important ecosystem
functions.