Tree canopy affects soil macrofauna spatial patterns on broad- and meso- scale levels in an Eastern European poplar-willow forest in the floodplain of the River Dnipro

This paper tested the hypothesis that the placement of trees in the floodplain ecosystem leads to multiscale
spatial structuring and plays an important role in formation of the spatial patterns of the soil macrofauna.
The research polygon was laid in an Eastern European poplar-willow forest in the floodplain of the River
Dnipro. The litter macrofauna was manually collected from the soil samples. The distances of the sampling
locations from the nearest individual of each tree species were applied to obtain a measure of the overstorey
spatial structure. The pure effect of tree structured space on the soil animal community was presented by the
broad-scale and meso-scale components. The soil animal community demonstrated patterns varying in tree
structured space. The tree induced spatial heterogeneity was revealed to effect on the vertical stratification
of the soil animal community. The complex nature of the soil animal community variability depending on the distance from trees was depended on the interaction of tree species in their effects on soil animals. The
importance of the spatial structures that interact with soil, plants and tree factors in shaping soil macrofauna
communities was shown.