Abstract The study focused on the attractiveness of mulches (consisting of the addition of a layer material to the soil surface) and their efficiency to promote recolonization by pedofauna of isolated and degraded areas. The experimental study was set up in the former coal mining area of Northern France. This area is particularly disturbed and fragmented by land-use change, urbanization, industry, intensive agriculture and metal pollution. To examine the movements of pedofauna, four kinds of mulches were applied: (i) Ramial Chipped Wood (RCW), (ii) chopped Miscanthus, (iii) dead leaves and (iv) wheat straw as well as plastic sheeting, a material often used in green spaces. A negative control consisted in soil without mulch addition. The experimental set-up consisted of a set of 18 bands of mulch (6 m long x 0.5 m width x 8 cm thick, i.e. a volume of 0.04 m3 per band) installed on three adjacent plots on a surface area which stretch on 4400 m2: (i) plot F1, a mixed plantation, (ii) plot M consisted of three rows of maples (both considered to be the reservoir of biodiversity) and (iii) plot BF, an ash plantation (with lower biodiversity). Faunistic communities of soil present within the mulches were monitoring using pitfall traps for four months (April to July), at a rate of eight surveys for each of the 90 traps installed, i.e. 720 samples. Different life traits and indices of diversity were studied, more specifically on carabid beetles. The main objective of the study was first to check whether mulches could or not reconnect different planted plots in a peri-urban landscape highly modified by human activities. The second aim was to find which type of mulch had the best efficiency in the recovery of the connectivity between plots. The last questions were which type of zoological groups could be favoured by the use of mulches and which benefits for ecosystem functioning. The main hypotheses of this study were: (i) Organic mulches would act as dispersal corridors and refuge zones to the soil organisms; (ii) organic mulches would be attractive to many organisms with various ecological needs. This study highlighted the potential benefits of using the mulching technique to support ecological connectivity in disturbed environment since this method highlighted the presence of individuals with different diets (saprophagous, predators, phytophagous and so forth), small and large size species which do not have the same dispersal capacities as well as species that are more dependent on forest environments and others that depend on more open environments. The study concluded that organic mulches are more favourable to pedofauna than soil without mulch or plastic sheeting. With regard to organic mulches, no difference was noted, either in terms of cumulative abundance or monthly monitoring. However, for carabids, it should be noted that dead leaves and wheat straw have higher specific richness than Miscanthus and RCW.

中文翻译：

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四种类型的有机覆盖物对恢复退化地区的兴趣比较：基于它们对土壤大型动物的相对吸引力的实地研究

摘要 本研究侧重于覆盖物（包括在土壤表面添加一层材料）的吸引力及其促进孤立和退化地区土壤动物重新定殖的效率。实验研究设在法国北部原煤矿区。该地区尤其受到土地利用变化、城市化、工业、集约化农业和金属污染的干扰和分散。为了检查土壤动物群的运动，使用了四种覆盖物：(i) Ramial Chipped Wood (RCW)，(ii) 切碎的芒草，(iii) 枯叶和 (iv) 麦秆以及塑料布，这种材料通常用于用于绿地。阴性对照由没有添加覆盖物的土壤组成。实验装置由一组 18 条覆盖物（6 m 长 x 0.5 m 宽 x 8 cm 厚，即 每个带 0.04 立方米的体积）安装在三个相邻的地块上，面积为 4400 平方米：(i) 地块 F1，混合种植园，(ii) 地块 M 由三排枫树（都被认为是生物多样性水库）和（iii）地块 BF，一个灰烬种植园（生物多样性较低）。覆盖物内的土壤动物群落使用陷阱陷阱监测了四个月（4 月至 7 月），对安装的 90 个陷阱中的每个陷阱进行 8 次调查，即 720 个样本。研究了不同的生活特征和多样性指数，尤其是甲虫。该研究的主要目的是首先检查覆盖物是否可以重新连接被人类活动高度改变的城郊景观中的不同种植地块。第二个目标是找出哪种类型的覆盖物在恢复地块之间的连通性方面具有最佳效率。最后一个问题是使用覆盖物可以偏爱哪种类型的动物群体，以及哪些有益于生态系统功能。本研究的主要假设是： (i) 有机覆盖物将作为土壤生物的传播走廊和避难区；(ii) 有机覆盖物对许多具有各种生态需求的生物很有吸引力。这项研究强调了使用覆盖技术支持受干扰环境中的生态连通性的潜在好处，因为这种方法强调了具有不同饮食（腐食性、捕食性、植食性等）的个体的存在，不具有相同传播能力的小型和大型物种以及更依赖森林环境的物种和其他依赖更开放环境的物种。该研究得出的结论是，有机覆盖物比没有覆盖物或塑料布的土壤更利于土壤动物群。关于有机覆盖物，无论是在累积丰度还是每月监测方面都没有发现差异。但是，对于carabids，应该注意的是枯叶和麦秆比芒草和RCW具有更高的特定丰富度。无论是累积丰度还是月度监测。但是，对于carabids，应该注意的是枯叶和麦秆比芒草和RCW具有更高的特定丰富度。无论是累积丰度还是月度监测。但是，对于carabids，应该注意的是枯叶和麦秆比芒草和RCW具有更高的特定丰富度。