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We measured soil oxygen concentrations at 10 and 35 cm depths and indices of biogeochemical cycling in upland forest soils along a rainfall and elevation gradient (3500-5000 mm y-1; 350-1050 masl) and along topographic gradients (ridge to valley, ∼150 m) in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Along the rainfall gradient, soil O2 availability decreased significantly with increasing annual rainfall, and reached very low levels (<3%) in individual chambers for up to 25 consecutive weeks over 82 weeks of study. Along localized topographic gradients, soil O2 concentrations were variable and decreased significantly from ridges to valleys. In the valleys, up to 35% of the observations at 10-35 cm depth were <3% soil O2. Cross correlation analyses showed that soil O2 concentrations were significantly positively correlated along the topographic gradient, and were sensitive to rainfall and hydrologic output. Soil O2 concentrations in valley soils were correlated with rainfall from the previous day, while ridge sites were correlated with cumulative rainfall inputs over 4 weeks. Soils at the wettest point along the rainfall gradient had very high soil methane concentrations (3-24%) indicating a strong influence of anaerobic processes. We measured net methane emission to the atmosphere at the wettest sites of the rainfall gradient, and in the valleys along topographic gradients. Other measures of biogeochemical function such as soil organic matter content and P availability were sensitive to chronic O2 depletion along the rainfall gradient, but less sensitive to the variable soil O2 environment exhibited at lower elevations along topographic gradients.

This study examined the effect of soil microarthropods on the decomposition of a single substrate (Quercus prinus L.) at two humid tropical forests (La Selva, Costa Rica [LAS], and Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico [LUQ]) and one temperate forest (Coweeta Hydrologic Station, North Carolina, USA [CWT]). In this litterbag experiment, naphthalene was applied to reduce the microarthropod population density from half of three replicate plots established at each site. This enabled us to quantify the mass loss contributed by the fauna (MLCF) at each site and permitted an analysis of the influence of site-specific differences in the composition of the microarthropod assemblages on decomposition rates. We hypothesized that microarthropod regulation of the microbial populations involved in leaf litter decomposition would be stronger in humid tropical forests, which experience conditions of low climatic variability. In these conditions, there can be an enhanced degree of biotic interactions between microarthropods and their microbial food sources. The elevated extent of these interactions should be expressed as a greater influence of microarthropods at the tropical sites and could result in a site-specific effect of faunal assemblages on decomposition. Decomposition of the oak litter proceeded faster in Puerto Rican and Costa Rican forests than in a temperate forest in North Carolina, USA, Microarthropods had little effect on decomposition in the temperate forest, whereas their influence was pronounced at tropical sites. Mass loss of litter from plots with reduced microarthropod populations was similar at the tropical sites. When plots with intact faunal communities were compared, differences in the tropical sites were apparent, suggesting that there was a site-specific faunal contribution to decomposition at these sites. Oribatid mites constituted a dominant component (41-64%) at each of the sites. Species richness of oribatids and Fisher's alpha diversity were similar in each of the three sites. The Shannon index revealed a lower diversity at LUQ. Abundance of microarthropods was lowest at LAS. Species accumulation curves for each site, though similar in form, were distinctive, as were diversity accumulation patterns in samples of increasing size. There was a positive relationship between species richness and the contribution of the fauna to litter mass loss within each site. Thus, species diversity of decomposer fauna may have important ecosystem consequences, particularly in warm moist tropical forests.