Variability in soil and litter arthropod populations in the Soil Freezing Study plots at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, 2009-2010

Climate models for the northeastern United States
(U.S.) over the next century project an increase in air
temperature between 2.8 and 4.3 °C and a decrease in the
average number of days per year when a snowpack will cover
the forest floor. Warmer temperatures may benefit some litter
arthropods by allowing them to expand their ranges and to
increase their rates of reproduction. However, a reduction in
snowpack depth and duration could offset these changes and
lead to increased arthropod mortality because the snowpack
plays an important role in insulating arthropods from
freezing temperatures. We evaluated these potential changes
by measuring arthropod abundance in the Soil Freezing Study
plots at the Hubabard Brook Experimental Forest. These data were gathered as part of the Hubbard Brook
Ecosystem Study (HBES). The HBES is a collaborative effort at
the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, which is operated and
maintained by the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research
Station.

针对美国东北部地区的气候模型预测显示，未来百年内当地气温将上升2.8至4.3摄氏度，同时每年覆盖林地表层的积雪日数平均值将有所减少。气温升高或可使部分枯落物节肢动物获益：它们能够拓展分布范围，提升繁殖速率。然而积雪深度与持续时长的缩减可能抵消上述益处，导致节肢动物死亡率上升——因积雪在隔绝节肢动物免受低温冻害方面发挥着关键作用。我们通过在哈巴德布鲁克实验林（Hubabard Brook Experimental Forest）的土壤冻结研究样地中测量节肢动物丰度，对上述潜在变化进行了评估。
这些数据是哈伯德布鲁克生态研究（Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study, HBES）项目的采集成果之一。HBES是在哈巴德布鲁克实验林开展的协作研究项目，由美国农业部林务局（USDA Forest Service）北方研究站运营维护。