Soil macrofaunal response to sand dune conversion from mobile dunes to fixed dunes in Horqin sandy land, northern China

The response of macrofauna to dune conversion from mobile dunes to fixed dunes was investigated in Horqin sandy land, northern China. Macrofaunal communities were compared in four major stages: mobile dunes (MD), semi-mobile dunes (SMD), semi-fixed dunes (SFD) and fixed dunes (FD). Macrofauna were collected by hand in the field and identified in the lab on the basis of features observed under a magnifying glass. They were then classified into morphotypes at the order and family level. Environmental parameters indicated a significant alteration of the soil environment in the conversion process. A clear increasing trend in abundance, richness, and diversity of the macrofaunal community could be established from mobile dunes to fixed dunes. Data for the different taxa suggested specific responses to dune conversion. Specific groups in the initial stage were predators (Labiduridae and Myrmeleontidae larvae, presumably feeding on Noctuidae and other small flying insects), which in the intermediate stages were replaced by saprophagous taxa (Diptera larvae, feeding on many decaying roots buried in semi-mobile and semi-fixed dunes), and burrowing Tenebrionidae (adults, then larvae) with herbivorous Hemiptera in later fixation stages with higher plant density and cover. Overall, the conversion process, particularly the fixed dunes, provided more suitable habitats with greater soil organic matter and plant cover supporting macrofaunal communities with higher diversity, which further enhanced the stabilization process, benefiting the restoration of soil and vegetation in this semiarid sandy area.