Soil protists are major biotic forces driving microbial dynamics within aggregates. Interpretation of protistan spatial distribution and ecological processes in aggregates primarily relies on aggregate isolation methods. However, comparative studies illustrating how isolation methods influence protistan communities are lacking. Here, two isolation procedures, dry- and wet-sieving, were evaluated. The wet-sieving led to separation of dry mega-aggregates, which consequently altered aggregate size distribution and associated protistan communities. The variable influences of sieving methods on aggregate protists were dependent on soil type. However, the aggregate isolation method did not affect the prominent aggregate-effects on protistan communities and detection of dominant taxa. Collectively, our findings highlight the importance of isolation procedures for exploring the spatial heterogeneity of protists at the micro-level.

土壤原生生物是驱动聚集体中微生物动力学的主要生物力量。对聚集体中原生生物空间分布和生态过程的解释主要依赖于聚集体隔离方法。然而，缺乏说明隔离方法如何影响原生生物群落的比较研究。在这里，评估了两种分离程序，干筛和湿筛。湿筛分导致干大团聚体的分离，从而改变了团聚体大小分布和相关的原生生物群落。筛分方法对原生生物聚集体的可变影响取决于土壤类型。然而，聚合分离方法并没有影响对原生生物群落的显着聚合效应和优势分类群的检测。总的来说，