The effect of urban park landscapes on soil Collembola diversity: A Mediterranean case study

By increasing landscape patchiness and habitat loss, urbanization threatens biodiversity. Its adverse effects may be mitigated by urban parks, in which conditions that promote structural and functional biodiversity contribute to preserve ecosystem processes. Therefore, deep knowledge of urban park biodiversity and of patterns driving species assemblages is required, especially for soil communities which are understudied. This study, conducted in public parks in Montpellier (Southern France), is the first one examining the impact of landscape patterns on Collembola communities. Moreover, soil abiotic properties were analyzed to examine how local factors drive species assemblages in different landscape types. The results of the study highlighted that Collembola community structure is affected by landscape patterns. Specifically, Collembola communities with species-abundance structures typical of late successional stages were found within woody landscapes, whereas those with early successional stage structures were observed in wide turf patches surrounded by other vegetation covers. When turf patches become small and isolated, homogenization was observed in Collembola community composition. From the perspective of urban park planning, managers should consider limiting landscape fragmentation (i.e. interspersion and configuration of impervious surfaces) and preserving landscape diversity (especially through woody vegetation patches). These may promote the development of diverse and structured Collembola communities, indicators of the overall soil quality.