The impact of wood ants (Formica rufa) mound on soil biological quality (QBS-ar) in a semi-arid pine forest

ABSTRACT Formica rufa of the wood ants is widely distributed in the northern hemisphere and one of the most important elements in ecosystem processes. We focused on the impact of wood ants on the abundance and diversity of soil microarthropods. Microarthropod samplings were conducted for two years from October 2014 to September 2016 at four ant nest mounds of similar size (ca. 0.50 m3). The aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of Formica rufa on soil biological quality (QBS-ar) and microarthropod diversity (Hʹ) in a semi-arid black pine forest. A total of 288 soil cores were sampled during the study period bimonthly. The results showed that the means for the abundance of microarthropods at adjacent ant nest (zone 1) and forest floor (zone 2) were 33322 and 45437 in..m-2, respectively. Wood ants were found to have negative effects on the abundance of soil microarthropods and soil biological quality (QBS-ar). However, the Shannon diversity index was not affected by ants’ mounds. Therefore, the QBS-ar index may be an effective method for monitoring soil biodiversity in a semi-arid pine forest for this reason.