The potential of Collembola to act as indicators of landscape stress in Australia
Penelope GreensladeDepartment of Botany and Zoology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia. Email: penny.greenslade@anu.edu.au
Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 47(4) 424-434 https://doi.org/10.1071/EA05264
Submitted: 6 September 2005 Accepted: 28 July 2006 Published: 9 March 2007
Abstract
Collembola have been used to assess the ecological status of a range of ecosystems in Australia over the last 35 years. The traits that Collembola possess that make them valuable as ecological indicators are listed. Examples of situations where they have been used to measure impacts in mainly agricultural landscapes are described and the contributions the results have made to management for ecological sustainability are noted. Densities of exotic and native species in a variety of ecosystems are provided and a list of genera with exotic species in Australia is given. A protocol for comprehensively surveying Collembola is described and a critique of different methods given.
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to John Ireson, Barry Longstaff, Jonathan Majer and anonymous referees for critically reviewing the manuscript and providing helpful suggestions for improvement.
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