Data from: Interactive effects of soil moisture, air temperature and litter nutrient diversity on soil microbial communities and Folsomia candida population

Soil organisms play a key role in carbon and nutrient cycling in forest
ecosystems. While soil organisms are strongly influenced by litter
chemistry and are highly sensitive to abiotic conditions, little is known
about how the interactive effects of these two factors. To address this
gap in knowledge, we conducted a 10-week microcosm experiment in which we
simulated the effects of climate change on soil ecology. More
specifically, we studied relationships among litter nutrient
concentration, microbial biomass, Collembola demographic parameters, and
litter decomposition, exploring the potential impacts of increasing air
temperature and decreasing soil moisture. To develop a gradient of
nutrient concentrations, we created six tree litter mixtures with
materials gathered from Quercus pubescens and its companion species. In
contrast to microbes, we observed that Collembola abundance and litter
decomposition were interactively affected by soil moisture and air
temperature: the negative effect of increasing air temperature on
Collembola abundance was amplified by reduced soil moisture, whereas the
positive effect of increasing air temperature on litter decomposition
disappeared under reduced soil moisture conditions. In contrast to fungi,
the response of bacterial biomass and Collembola abundance to litter
nutrient concentration was dependent on abiotic conditions. More
specifically, the relationships between nutrients, especially calcium and
magnesium, and bacterial biomass and Collembola abundance were less robust
or disappeared under drier or warmer conditions. In conclusion, our
findings underscore that ongoing climate change could affect soil
organisms directly as well as indirectly, by altering their responses to
litter nutrient concentrations. In addition, we found that nutrient-rich
habitats might be more affected than nutrient-poor habitats by altered
climatic conditions.