From random species to convergent traits: Collembola assembly differently driving by soil and forest structure in a 20-hectare subtropical forest

Abstract

Clarifying the soil fauna community assembly mechanism is of great significance for understanding the maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem function. While taxonomic-based studies often yield different evidence regarding the drivers of soil fauna diversity, functional trait-based approaches offer a promising way to uncover mechanistic rules. We systematically investigated communities of Collembola, an ecological significance and taxonomically well-known group, in a 20-hectare subtropical forest. Then we combined soil properties, plant community, and topography factors to explored community assembly and its driving factors from taxonomic and functional dimensions. The result revealed a distinct pattern between taxonomic and functional dimensions. Collembola community assemble is dominate by stochastic processes at taxonomic level revealed by species co-occurrence analysis, and dominate by deterministic processes at functional trait level revealed by null model. The drivers of diversity different markedly between two dimensions: soil pH primarily determined species richness and life form composition, while functional diversity was shaped jointly by soil properties and forest structural heterogeneity (particularly tree size variation). Our results highlight that environmental filtering constrains functional traits, while neutral processes drive local species composition. This emphasizes the need to integrate both taxonomic and functional traits to fully understand the hierarchical community assembly of Collembola.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

springtail / taxonomic species / functional trait / environmental filtering / community assembly / diversity

Highlight

	● The Collembola community in subtropical forests shows weak spatial structure, with species richness spatial autocorrelation around 101 meters.
	● The Collembola species co-occurrence pattern was random, indicating stochastic processes, while functional traits exhibit strong convergence, reflecting deterministic processes.
	● Distinct drivers were found for species richness and functional trait richness; soil properties (especially pH) mainly determine species richness and life-form-related traits, while forest structural heterogeneity (notably tree diameter variation) primarily shapes size-related functional traits.

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