Australian subalpine soil invertebrate diversity and abundance under simulated drought

Abstract

The impact of climate change, notably more frequent and extreme drought, on soil invertebrate communities essential to the survival of the Australian subalpine ecosystem, remains a relatively unexplored concept. Using samples collected from the AMRF FutureClim site near Mt Perisher, we studied how a simulated drought environment influences soil invertebrate community composition, diversity and abundance, to predict what may occur in Kosciuszko National Park’s near future. The significant decrease in overall abundance of soil invertebrates observed under drought conditions, coupled with variations in the composition of orders and feeding guilds suggests possible negative impacts of decreased moisture availability on these communities. Whilst only preliminary findings, this research is beneficial in raising awareness on how every aspect of the environment, whether as big as the trees or as small as the grains of soil, is a significant contributor toward the ecosystem’s survival.