Soil microbiomes show consistent and predictable responses to extreme events.

Increasing extreme climatic events threaten the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Because soil microbes govern key biogeochemical processes, understanding their response to climate extremes is crucial in predicting the consequences for ecosystem functioning. Here we subjected soils from 30 grasslands across Europe to four contrasting extreme climatic events under common controlled conditions (drought, flood, freezing and heat), and compared the response of soil microbial communities and their functioning with those of undisturbed soils.

Taxonomic diversity and abundance of enchytraeids (Annelida, Clitellata, Enchytraeida) in the Northern Palaearctic. 1. Asian part.

Background: Enchytraeids, or potworms, are tiny oligochaetes that are distributed worldwide in many terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Despite their key role in the functioning of ecosystems, the diversity and abundance of Enchytraeidae are rarely studied due to the laborious process of species identification. The present study addresses this gap and sheds some light on the distribution and abundance of enchytraeids in the lands of the Northern Palearctic.

Disproportionate declines of formerly abundant species underlie insect loss.

Studies have reported widespread declines in terrestrial insect abundances in recent years, but trends in other biodiversity metrics are less clear-cut. Here we examined long-term trends in 923 terrestrial insect assemblages monitored in 106 studies, and found concomitant declines in abundance and species richness. For studies that were resolved to species level (551 sites in 57 studies), we observed a decline in the number of initially abundant species through time, but not in the number of very rare species.

Enchytraeidae (Annelida: Oligochaeta) from Eastern Dagestan, Russia, with the description of a new species.

The first ever list of terrestrial enchytraeids of Eastern Dagestan includes 12 species belonging to five genera. Several species from studied localities may be assigned as undescribed, therefore additional comprehensive research of enchytraeid fauna from Eastern Dagestan is required. A new enchytraeid species of the genus Fridericia Michaelsen, 1889, Fridericia samurai sp.

Long-term abundance trends of insect taxa are only weakly correlated.

Changes in the abundances of animals, such as with the ongoing concern about insect declines, are often assumed to be general across taxa. However, this assumption is largely untested. Here, we used a database of assemblage-wide long-term insect and arachnid monitoring to compare abundance trends among co-occurring pairs of taxa.

Global data on earthworm abundance, biomass, diversity and corresponding environmental properties.

Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provided directly by authors, were collated with information on site locations, including coordinates, habitat cover, and soil properties.

InsectChange: a global database of temporal changes in insect and arachnid assemblages.

Insects are the most ubiquitous and diverse group of eukaryotic organisms on Earth, forming a crucial link in terrestrial and freshwater food webs. They have recently become the subject of headlines because of observations of dramatic declines in some places. Although there are hundreds of long-term insect monitoring programs, a global database for long-term data on insect assemblages has so far remained unavailable.

A new species of the genus Lucasioides Kwon, 1993 (Isopoda, Oniscidea, Agnaridae) from Siberia, Russia.

A new species of the family Agnaridae, Lucasioides altaicus sp. nov., is described from the Altai Mountains, southwestern Siberia, based both on morphological characters and molecular data.

Response to Comment on "Meta-analysis reveals declines in terrestrial but increases in freshwater insect abundances".

Desquilbet take issue with our data inclusion criteria and make several other dubious claims regarding data processing, analysis, and interpretation. Most of their concerns stem from disagreement on data inclusion criteria and analysis, misunderstanding of our goals, and unrealistic expectations. We maintain that our synthesis provides a state-of-the-art analysis of patterns of trends in insect abundances.

Forest fire induces short-term shifts in soil food webs with consequences for carbon cycling.

We tested for fire-induced (5-6 years post-fire) changes in the structure and functioning of the soil food web along a 3000-km north-south transect across European Russia, spanning all major forest types in the northern hemisphere outside the tropics. The total biomass of the detrital food web, including microbes and invertebrates, was not affected by fire. However, fire reduced the biomass of microfauna and mites, but had no impact on mesofauna or macrofauna.

A history of study and new records of terrestrial enchytraeids (Annelida, Clitellata, Enchytraeidae) from the Russian Far East.

A list of terrestrial enchytraeids of the Russian Far East is compiled based on literature and extensive field data collected by the authors in 2019. A database has been created consisting of geographic coordinates, habitat type, species, and data source. For some species collected by the authors, barcoding using COI, 16s, and 12s rRNA genes has been performed.

Meta-analysis reveals declines in terrestrial but increases in freshwater insect abundances.

Recent case studies showing substantial declines of insect abundances have raised alarm, but how widespread such patterns are remains unclear. We compiled data from 166 long-term surveys of insect assemblages across 1676 sites to investigate trends in insect abundances over time. Overall, we found considerable variation in trends even among adjacent sites but an average decline of terrestrial insect abundance by ~9% per decade and an increase of freshwater insect abundance by ~11% per decade.

Global distribution of earthworm diversity.

Soil organisms, including earthworms, are a key component of terrestrial ecosystems. However, little is known about their diversity, their distribution, and the threats affecting them. We compiled a global dataset of sampled earthworm communities from 6928 sites in 57 countries as a basis for predicting patterns in earthworm diversity, abundance, and biomass.

Mechanisms of soil macrofauna community sustainability in temperate rice-growing systems.

Rice growing requires highly destructive and highly invasive field management negatively affecting soil biota and its functions. We aimed to compare taxonomic and functional trait compositions of soil macrofauna at different stages of rice cropping cycles in the three temperate rice-growing regions in Russia. Samples were collected in 2016 at four different biotopes in each region: flooded rice paddies; upland crops planted one year after flooded rice; rice paddy bunds; and relatively undisturbed seminatural control grasslands.

Description of a new species of the genus Verhoeff, 1917 and redescription of Borutzky, 1957 from the southeast of European Russia (Isopoda, Oniscidea, Agnaridae).

A new species of woodlice, Gongalsky & Turbanov, is described from Kalmykia, NE Pre-Caspian region, Russia. Borutzky, 1957 from the same area is also redescribed. Diagnostic features of these species as well as affinities within the genus are provided and discussed.

The first record of the genus Verhoeff, 1930 (Isopoda, Oniscidea, Agnaridae) from Europe, with the description of a new species.

A new woodlouse species, Desertoniscus zaitsevi sp. nov., is described from Kalmykia, Cis-Caspian region of Russia.

First record of Orobdellakawakatsuorum (Hirudinida: Arhynchobdellida: Erpobdelliformes) from Kunashir Island, Kuril Islands.

Specimens of the genus Orobdella Oka, 1895 from Kunashir Island, the Kuril Islands, are identified as Orobdellakawakatsuorum Richardson, 1975. Mitochondrial tRNA(Leu) and ND1 data confirm the species identification of the Kunashir specimens. This is the first record of the genus Orobdella from the Kuril Islands.

Isotopic niche (δ¹³С and δ¹⁵N values) of soil macrofauna in temperate forests.

Rationale: Stable isotope analysis (SIA) is used widely for reconstructing trophic links of vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Soil macrofauna form a substantial food source for a range of predators including amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. SIA-based estimations of their trophic niches require knowledge on the full range of isotopic signatures of potential preys.

Cartographic analysis of woodlice fauna of the former USSR.

An inventory of the woodlice fauna of the former USSR yielded 190 species, 64 of them were recorded from the territory of Russia. According to the cartographic analysis, the limits of distribution of epigean terrestrial isopods over the area, excluding mountains, is explained by temperature. No woodlice records were found outside the isocline of 120 days a year with the mean daily air temperature >10°C.

Impact of pollution caused by uranium production on soil macrofauna.

Thirty years of mining and milling activities of the Priargunsky Mining-Chemical Production Company (South-Eastern Siberia, Russia) have resulted in an enrichment of uranium in adjacent steppe soils by a factor of up to 600. A number of attendant pollutants (thorium, arsenic and heavy metals) also have high concentrations in the soil. To estimate the effects of this pollution on soil-living macroinvertebrates, pitfall trapping and core sampling were applied.