Soil biodiversity underpins key ecosystem processes such as decomposition, nutrient cycling, and biological pest control. Agricultural practices including tillage, high-input fertilisation, and herbicide use can reduce soil biological diversity and impair soil functioning. Understanding the capacity of soil fauna to recover after severe disturbance is therefore essential for assessing soil resilience and the duration of management-induced impacts.
Soil-dwelling mites are abundant in agricultural soils and are frequently used as indicators of soil biological recovery. They exhibit a wide range of ecological tolerances and life-history strategies across major groups such as Mesostigmata, Trombidiformes (Prostigmata), and Sarcoptiformes (including Oribatida). These functional differences suggest that taxa will vary in their recolonisation ability after local extinctions: groups with effective dispersal and high reproductive rates are expected to recover faster than taxa with limited dispersal and slow life cycles.
This study tested short-term, fine-scale recovery of mite communities following experimental defaunation in newly planted grasslands, using half-open field mesocosms and two contrasting soil types (chernozem and sandy soil). The design permitted comparison between minimally disturbed and defaunated soil while monitoring a range of environmental variables and vegetation biomass over sequential cultivation periods.
Recovery was assessed in half-open field mesocosms established in newly planted grass mixtures. Mesocosms were deployed on two soil types: chernozem and sandy soil. Grass mixtures were cultivated over three consecutive eight-month periods. Within each soil system, mite assemblages in minimally disturbed control soil were compared with experimentally defaunated soil. A suite of environmental variables, including vegetation biomass, was monitored throughout the experiment to help identify drivers of recovery.
The experimental approach focused on short-term local recovery potential, allowing detection of recolonisation via active or passive dispersal from surrounding areas or through survival and reproduction of individuals or eggs that persisted post-disturbance.
The study distinguished responses among major mite groups because their life-history traits predict differing recovery dynamics. Mesostigmata include many predatory species often considered sensitive to disturbance, but some taxa may disperse effectively. Trombidiformes (notably Prostigmata such as Pygmephoroidea and Tarsonemidae) show evidence from other systems of effective colonisation after disturbance and can reach high abundances in agricultural soils. Oribatida are generally regarded as most sensitive, with slow population growth and limited dispersal; prior work reports slow recovery after forest disturbance, drought, and post-mining restoration.
These traits framed expectations that Mesostigmata and prostigmatid groups would recover more rapidly than oribatid mites.
Recovery trajectories differed substantially among mite taxa. Mesostigmata and Heterostigmata groups recovered rapidly following experimental defaunation. Reported mean ± standard deviation for defaunation effect size (ES) was: Mesostigmata ES = +0.07 ± 0.91, Pygmephoroidea ES = +0.20 ± 0.61, and Tarsonemidae ES = −0.05 ± 0.36. These values indicate small or neutral defaunation effects and suggest quick recolonisation or population rebound for these taxa.
In contrast, oribatid mites showed consistently slow and frequently incomplete recovery, with a reported ES = −1.08 ± 0.66. This pattern aligns with expectations based on their limited dispersal ability and slower life cycles.
Abundances of the more rapidly recovering groups were generally positively associated with vegetation biomass. The authors interpret this as improved microhabitat conditions and greater resource availability facilitating recovery for taxa with faster population growth and dispersal.
Recovery of oribatid mites was further modulated by edaphic conditions: outcomes were more favourable in chernozem than in sandy soil. Thus, soil type influenced recolonisation success and the degree to which communities returned toward minimally disturbed states.
The observed differences in recovery among mite groups are attributed to the interaction between taxon-specific life-history traits and local environmental conditions. Fast recovery by Mesostigmata and Heterostigmata likely reflects efficient dispersal and high reproductive rates, whereas slow or incomplete recovery of oribatids reflects limited dispersal capacity and slow maturation.
Edaphic context, exemplified by contrasts between chernozem and sandy soils, further constrained or facilitated recolonisation, particularly for the more sensitive oribatid taxa. Vegetation biomass emerged as an important proximal driver, presumably by improving microhabitat structure and food resources for certain mite groups.
The findings underscore that recovery after local extinctions is not uniform across soil fauna: functional differences among taxa determine resilience at fine spatial scales. This heterogeneity has implications for how soil recovery is assessed and for anticipating the persistence of disturbance effects on soil ecological processes.
Short-term, fine-scale recovery of mite communities following experimental local extinctions on grasslands varied by taxon and soil type. Mesostigmata and Heterostigmata groups showed rapid recovery, while oribatid mites recovered slowly and incompletely, with better outcomes on chernozem than on sandy soil. Recovery was generally promoted by higher vegetation biomass. The study concludes that assessments of soil resilience and restoration should account for functional and life-history differences among soil taxa as well as local edaphic conditions.
Data supporting the analyses reported in the study are available in the Zenodo repository (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20084648).