Soil fauna as a webmasters of forest floor

Previous research show that soil fauna can consume about how of annual litter fall across world biomes. In some ecosystems such as temperate broadleaf forest it can be almost all annual litterfall.  In this study we use simple field microcosm experiment quantify amount of carbon incorporated by so fauna bioturbation in various forest ecosystems. We have found that more than half of carbon eaten by soil fauna, gets incorporated in the soil by fauna bioturbation.   Soil  fauna biotubation increased which increasing actual evapotranspiration and decreasing CN ratio of litter. 

By comparing manipulation experiment, proportion of biostructures in soil measured by thin soil  sections, and carbon distribution in top soil layers, in ecosystem which different abundance of soil fauna causing bioturbation, namely earthworms, we can demonstrate, that soil fauna bioturbation is a major process responsible for distribution of organic matter in litter overlaying soil horizons and mineral soil. This indirectly affect  fungal bacterial ration, composition of soil food web an many other soil processes