Impact of marshy area reclamation by various vegetations on soil-nematode community structure in Dachigam National Park

Highlights

● Impact of marshy area reclamation by various vegetations on soil nematode community was investigated.

● Nematode abundance was lowered by reclamation mostly due to bacterivores.

● Reclamation effectively diminished the nematode metabolic footprint.

● Robust management strategies must be adapted for conservation and protection of marshy ecosystems.

Abstract

Marshy areas are ecologically important and sensitive areas which are under immense pressure, such as reclamation by various terrestrial vegetations. However, how these vegetation types disrupt the stability of nematode community is scarce. The present study determined how the soil nematode community responded to shifting environmental states by using nematode abundances, nematode indices and metabolic footprints as indicators. In this context, we selected three types of reclaimed vegetation around a marshy land (MR) in Dachigam National Park, Kashmir, which includes grassland (GL), forest (FR) and cropland (CL) to investigate the soil nematode community. Acrobeloides, Plectus, Eudorylaimus, and Aphelenchus proved more sensitive to reclamation effect. Results revealed decrease in total nematode and bacterivore abundance. Reclamation reduced diversity in CL, whereas no effect was observed in the GL and FR as compared to MR. Channel index indicated shift from fungal decomposition to bacterial decomposition pathway in GL. The nematode faunal profile depicted grassland (GL) as the most structured ecosystem compared to MR, FR, and CL. Our results suggest that vegetation type regulates the structure, function, and stability of the soil food web, which has significant implications for managing the vegetation cover in a sustainable manner in the Dachigam National Park.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

nematodes / diversity / vegetation / habitat / reclamation

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

We are thankful to the Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University for providing the required facilities to carry out this work. The first and second authors are thankful to the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for providing the stipend.

Electronic supplementary material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s42832-022-0166-y and is accessible for authorized users.

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