Little is known about the complex processes within the soil ecosystem and especially about soil animals and their role in supporting and sustaining ecosystem functioning in alpine soils. Currently, environmental and socioeconomic changes, such as climate change and the cessation of traditional cultivation, are influencing mountain ecosystems. Epi- and endogeic animals play an essential role in litter decomposition, humus formation, and pedogenesis and in improving resistance to natural hazards. Therefore, knowledge about the diversity of soil macroinvertebrates is of immediate importance. To test the effect of different management techniques on soil macroinvertebrates, we took 144 soil monoliths from 4 different land use types (with 3 replicates each) in a subalpine area. The land use types were (1) extensively grazed dry pastures, (2) intensively used hay meadows, (3) larch forests, and (4) spruce forests. All sites were comparable in terms of bedrock and exposition. Additionally, we measured pH, organic matter content, and C and N content, as well as soil temperature and soil moisture. We found the highest abundances of macroinvertebrates on the intensively used hay meadows, followed by larch forests, spruce forests, and dry pastures. Diptera larvae and Lumbricidae were predominant in hay meadows, while we found the highest number of Coleoptera larvae, Araneae, and Symphyla in larch forests. In comparison to the other land use types, the dry pastures harbored the most Gastropoda individuals. No unique taxa were observed in the spruce forests. At species level, larch forests had the highest number of species (73), followed by hay meadows (44), spruce forests (42), and dry pasture (36). Despite showing lower biodiversity, we found more rare and specialist species in the extensive dry pastures compared to the more generalist species assemblages in the other habitats, supporting the high conservation value of extensively managed alpine landscapes.

中文翻译：

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沿亚高山土地利用断面的土壤大型无脊椎动物分布

人们对土壤生态系统中的复杂过程，尤其是土壤动物及其在支持和维持高山土壤生态系统功能方面的作用知之甚少。目前，气候变化和停止传统耕作等环境和社会经济变化正在影响山区生态系统。表生和内生动物在凋落物分解、腐殖质形成和成土以及提高对自然灾害的抵抗力方面发挥着重要作用。因此，了解土壤大型无脊椎动物的多样性具有直接的重要性。为了测试不同管理技术对土壤大型无脊椎动物的影响，我们从亚高山地区的 4 种不同土地利用类型（每种 3 个重复）中采集了 144 块土壤巨石。土地利用类型为（1）大放牧干草场，(2) 密集使用的干草草甸，(3) 落叶松林，和 (4) 云杉林。所有地点在基岩和展示方面都具有可比性。此外，我们还测量了 pH 值、有机质含量、C 和 N 含量，以及土壤温度和土壤湿度。我们在密集使用的干草草地上发现大型无脊椎动物的丰度最高，其次是落叶松林、云杉林和旱牧场。双翅目幼虫和蚱蜢在干草草甸中占主导地位，而我们在落叶松林中发现鞘翅目幼虫、蛛形纲和交翅目数量最多。与其他土地利用类型相比，干草场拥有最多的腹足类动物。在云杉林中没有观察到独特的分类群。在物种层面，落叶松林的物种数量最多（73），其次是干草草甸（44）、云杉林（42）、和干草场 (36)。尽管生物多样性较低，但与其他栖息地中更普遍的物种组合相比，我们在广阔的干旱牧场中发现了更多稀有和专业物种，支持广泛管理的高山景观的高保护价值。