Deep Soil Microarthropods

**We addressed the question, are microarthropod assemblages present in soils throughout the rhizosphere of a deep-rooted desert plant? If microarthropods are present, what is the taxonomic and functional structure of that assemblage? The presence of a generalist microarthropod assemblage would suggest functional relationships among deep soil biota similar to the relationships documented in shallow soils. Data set consists of microarthropods and microarthropod numbers found at different soil depths associated with four mesquite ecosystems (playa, coppice dune, arroyo, and grassland).本研究聚焦两项核心科学问题：其一，深根荒漠植物根际全域土壤中是否存在微型节肢动物群落（microarthropod assemblage）？其二，若该类群落确实存在，其分类学与功能学结构呈现何种特征？若存在广食性微型节肢动物群落，则可表明，深层土壤生物间的功能关联模式与浅层土壤中已有文献记载的功能关联模式高度相似。本数据集涵盖了从四种牧豆树（mesquite）生态系统（干盐湖生境、灌丛沙丘生境、冲沟生境与草原生境）不同土壤深度处采集到的微型节肢动物及其种群数量。