Litter and soil fauna of two Australian subtropical forests

The abundances of litter and soil fauna and some related environmental measures are given for two Australian subtropical forests, a notophyll vine forest (or rainforest) and a wet sclerophyll forest. Animals were more abundant in the wet sclerophyll forest; peak abundances were recorded in summer in both forests. Mites and Collembola accounted for 79% of the rainforest fauna and for 85% of the wet sclerophyll forest fauna. Most mites in the wet sclerophyll forest were Crypto stigmata (68%); in the rainforest both Cryptostigmata and Mesostigmata were well represented (84%). Patterns of aggregations of individuals within major faunal groups differed for the two forests. Correlations are made between the numbers of individuals of Collembola, of mites and of each order of mite and the environmental measures. Significant correlations emerged for some environmental measures in some seasons. Results are compared with those of other studies and it is concluded that poor or no humus development restricts the numbers of individuals living on tropical or subtropical forest floors. Speculations are presented to account for the difference between the faunas in the two Australian subtropical forests.