What is important for ant assemblages in temperate forest soils?

Ant assemblages in the soil have been studied at eight forest sites (4 oak forest sites, and 4 pine forest sites) in four study areas (1 seminatural area, and 3 industrialized areas) in South Korea for 6 years from 2002 to 2010. Soil cores and Tullgren funnel were used for the ant survey. Ant surveys were carried out once per year in autumn (from late September to mid-October). The soil pH was lower in the industrialized than in the seminatural area, showing the acidified soils in the industrialized areas. However, the soil acidification did not influence the ant assemblages. The results from the nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination and from the community temperature index values indicate that temperature is a key determinant for structures of the soil ant assemblages. The ant assemblages were not different according to the forest types (oak forests vs. pine forests). Occurrence of ant species varied greatly among years, indicating that more replicates and advanced sampling method are needed for the monitoring of the soil ant assemblages.