If we build it, will they colonize? A test of the field of dreams paradigm with soil macroinvertebrate communities

Soil invertebrates transfer energy and material between belowground and aboveground systems, but a clear understanding of their recovery following long-term disturbance to soil is lacking. We quantified trophic, taxonomic, and compositional change of soil macroinvertebrates in cultivated fields, prairies restored for 1-21 years, and prairies that had never been cultivated. Taxonomic diversity (H′; based on morphospecies), richness, and evenness did not change across the chronosequence. Average taxonomic richness across all restorations was intermediate to cultivated fields and remnant prairie. Detritivores increased linearly across the chronosequence, while omnivores peaked at 5-8 years following restoration, coinciding with high plant richness. Spiders were the only predators that increased across the chronosequence. Proportional similarity of the macroinvertebrate communities to the average structure of remnant prairies increased across the chronosequence, but this relationship was not upheld when individual remnant prairies with different community structures were used. This study demonstrates that remnants can vary widely in macroinvertebrate trophic structure, diversity, and taxonomic composition and include exotic macroinvertebrate species, indicating a real dilemma for assessing recovery of restorations to a “target” community.