Plant litter decomposition influenced by soil animals and disturbance in a subtropical rainforest of Taiwan

Soil fauna has been postulated as one of the paramount determinants of decomposition in the humid tropics. However, its effect on litter decomposition has only been demonstrated in few forest sites in Central America. In addition, landslide is a common disturbance associated with heavy rainfall brought by tropical cyclones in the tropics and can potentially alter abundance and structure of soil animals and thus affect litter decomposition. In this study, we examined the effect of soil animals on litter decomposition in an Asian subtropical monsoon forest and compared the animal effects in landslide-disturbed (2 years old) and undisturbed sites. Animal exclusion by naphthalene treatment significantly reduced the density and diversity of litterbag animals and slowed down the rate of decomposition in both landslide-disturbed and undisturbed sites. However, density (per unit area) and diversity of the litter animals and litter decomposition rate did not differ between the landslide-disturbed and undisturbed sites for both control and animal-excluded treatments. Our data suggest that the abundance of soil animals is not limited by litter mass. Furthermore, soil fauna recover quickly from landslides, and fauna's facilitative effect on litter decomposition is not altered after their recovery.