Soil mineral nitrogen content is increased by soil mesofauna and nematodes – a meta-analysis

Using meta-analysis, we quantified effects of soil mesofauna and nematodes on soil mineral nitrogen and investigated the influence of controlling factors. Data were compiled from 21 articles, yielding 428 data points. The dataset contains information on geographical location, soils (soil texture, organic carbon, CN ratio of soils and litter), experimental details (laboratory or field experiment, application of organic material, experimental duration, temperature, replication, initial mineral nitrogen content), organisms (taxonomic group, size class, species, trophic group, abundance), and the effect sizes and variance calculated for each observation.

Research domain: Other

Research question: The main objectives were (1) to estimate the impact of meso- and microfaunal activity on the nitrogen compounds ammonium, nitrate and total mineral nitrogen; (2) to assess whether faunal effects depend on functional characteristics or faunal density; or (3) were modulated by experimental conditions or soil characteristics.

本研究采用元分析（meta-analysis）方法，量化了土壤中型动物群（soil mesofauna）与线虫对土壤矿质氮的调控效应，并探究了相关影响因素。本数据集整合自21篇已发表研究论文，共计得到428组有效数据点。数据集涵盖以下多维度信息：地理位置数据；土壤属性（包括土壤质地、有机碳含量、土壤与凋落物的碳氮比）；实验细节（含实验室/野外实验类型、有机物料施用方案、实验持续时长、温度设置、重复次数、初始矿质氮含量）；生物类群信息（包括分类类群、体型分级、物种、营养类群、种群丰度）；以及针对每一项观测计算得到的效应量与方差。
研究领域：其他
研究问题：本研究的核心目标如下：（1）量化中型与小型土壤动物活动对铵态氮、硝态氮及总矿质氮的调控效应；（2）评估动物群落效应是否与其功能特性或种群密度相关；（3）探究实验条件或土壤属性是否会对动物效应产生调节作用。