Soil Springtail Communities Are Resilient to Forest Tent Caterpillar Defoliation in Quebec Mixed Hardwood Forests

TitleSoil Springtail Communities Are Resilient to Forest Tent Caterpillar Defoliation in Quebec Mixed Hardwood Forests
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2023
AuthorsKoudji E.G, Despland E., Caron A.S, Handa I.T
JournalForests
Volume14
Pagination16
Date PublishedJul
Type of ArticleArticle
Accession NumberWOS:001038671000001
Keywordsbudworm, carbon, climate-change, Collembola, diversity, dynamics, forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria), Forestry, HERBIVORY, microbial communities, Natural forest, nitrogen, outbreak, springtails, SPRUCE, Trembling aspen, vertical-distribution
Abstract

Outbreaks of defoliator insects are important natural disturbances in boreal forests, but their increasing frequency under warming climate conditions is of concern. Outbreak events can shape ecosystem dynamics with cascading effects through trophic networks. Caterpillar defoliation can alter tree physiology, increase sunlight to the understory, and result in the deposition of large amounts of leaf litter and caterpillar frass to the forest floor. These modifications can thus affect soil organisms through direct (e.g., changes in soil temperature or moisture) or indirect (e.g., changes in detrital and root food webs) mechanisms. We assessed whether a recent (2015 to 2017) outbreak of the forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria) at the Lake Duparquet Teaching and Research Forest (Abitibi, QC, Canada) affected soil springtail communities, abundant microarthropods in forest soils. In 2018 and 2019, we sampled litter and soil (0-10 cm depth) at eight sites each in aspen-dominated (Populus tremuloides Michx) stands that were undefoliated or had a recent defoliation history. We found no significant difference in springtail abundance (specimens cm(-2)) or alpha diversity indices between undefoliated sites and those with defoliation history. However, we observed a transient change in springtail community composition 1 year after the outbreak (2018) with the absence of Folsomia nivalis, Anurophorus sp1, and Xenylla christianseni in sites with defoliation history, but no compositional differences were observed in 2019. Certain soil nutrients (P, C, Mg, Mn) were significant predictors of springtail community composition, but soil microbial biomass was not, despite its significant decrease in sites with defoliation history. Our results show that soil springtail communities respond in the short-term to the forest tent caterpillar outbreak with compositional shifts, but seem ultimately resilient to these events.

Short TitleForestsForests
Alternate JournalForests
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Gagnon Koudji, Essivi Despland, Emma Caron, Anne-Sophie Handa, I. Tanya
seed; NSERC Collaborative Research and Development [522722-17]; NSERC Discovery [RGPIN-2019-07215]
The QCBS provided a seed grant to I.T.H. and E.D. in 2018. E.G.K. was funded through an NSERC Collaborative Research and Development Grant 522722-17 to E.D. and I.T.H. and an NSERC Discovery Grant RGPIN-2019-07215 to I.T.H. SERG international provided a grant to E.D.

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Koudji, EG; Handa, IT (corresponding author), Univ Quebec Montreal UQAM, Dept Sci Biol, 141 Ave President-Kennedy, Montreal, PQ H2X 1Y4, Canada.
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