03439naa a2200169 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001910000220006024500980008226000090018052026870018970000170287670000190289370000200291270000160293277303210294813149042008-09-22       2008    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d1 aBRIONES, M. J. I.  aSoil fauna responses to climate changebimplications for modelling ecosystem carbon function.  c2008  aSoil biodiversity is crucial to the biogeochemical functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Current scientific concerns focus on determining the response of biosphere C stocks to climate variability and the potential for feedbacks of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. In terrestrial ecosystems most carbon (C) occurs below-ground, making understanding the capacity of soil decomposer communities to adapt to temperature variations critical to predicting climate change effects on the global carbon cycle. Biodiversity has been traditionally used as a synonym of number of species present, however this definition does not allow good descriptions of ecosystem function since communities with the same number of species but different species compositions have different effects on soil processes. Several studies have postulated the importance of focusing on functional groups and key stone species to provide more plausible explanations of ecosystems functions and stability. However, the inclusion of functional groups in several models with the aim of elucidating ecosystem processes has proved to be unsatisfactory. One possible explanation could be the fact of functional redundancy of species and omnivory being assumed to be high in soils. Here we examine how warming affects the resilience of soil invertebrate communities to climate change and their implications for ecosystem functioning. We report the results from several manipulation experiments as measured changes in gas emissions, plant productivity and in the diversity, abundance, vertical distribution and feeding capabilities of soil invertebrates. In brief, our results suggest that warming and the associated decrease in soil moisture content had little effect on aboveground plant production; however, root biomass and soil respiration, were significantly increased. Soil invertebrates exhibited individualistic responses to the temperature increase that contributed to changes in overall community size, trophic structure and the vertical distribution of some populations. For example, faunal groups with relatively large body sizesand soft exoskeletons were more sensitive whereas other groups with migration capabilities exhibited adaptative responses by altering their their habitat location and their diets. In conclusion, our results suggest a dynamic rather static model for community responses to climate change. Accordingly, it is not possible to make generalisations regarding overall community responses to future climate scenarios and research must focus on the responses at trophic and species levels within their exploited habitat to make better predictions and to develop more realistic C models.1 aOSTLE, N. J.1 aGARNETT, M. H.1 aMCNAMARA, N. P.1 aPOSKITT, J.  tIn: INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM ON SOIL ZOOLOGY, 15; INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM ON APTERYGOTA, 12., 2008, Curitiba. Biodiversity, conservation and sustainabele management of soil animal: abstracts. Colombo: Embrapa Florestas. Editors: George Gardner Brown; Klaus Dieter Sautter; Renato Marques; Amarildo Pasini. 1 CD-ROM.