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• Main Authors: Bjarni E. Gudleifsson, Brynhildur Bjarnadottir
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Collembola; hayfields; Iceland; pastures; seasonal activity; soil types YFIRLIT Mordýr (Collembola) í túnum og úthaga á norðanverðu Íslandi
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.600.7170; http://www.landbunadur.is/landbunadur/wgsamvef.nsf/8bbba2777ac88c4000256a89000a2ddb/dc2313532e699a700025754d0038e80f/$FILE/IAS_ Springtail (Collembola).pdf

Surface-living invertebrates in grassland habitats were collected in pitfall traps for one year in three hayfields and three pastures in northern Iceland. Hayfields and pastures were on three different soil types; sand, silt and peat. Traps were renewed at weekly intervals during summer (six replicates) but at longer and variable intervals during winter (two replicates). Collembolans were counted and grouped to families or subclasses. During the summer season Collembola were most abundant in late summer and early autumn (second part of July to end of August) and Isotomidae and Symphypleona dominated. Onychiuridae and Entomobryidae culminated in spring, Hypogastruridae and Symphypleona in late summer and Istomidae in early autumn. During summer Collembolans dominated by Onychiuridae, Isotomidae and Entomobryidae were signi-ficantly more abundant in pastures than hayfields, indicating that hayfield cultivation (fertilization and mow-ing) disturbs the natural pasture habitat. Hypogastruridae and Symphypleona were not significantly more abundant in hayfields. Isotomidae and Symphypleona thrived significantly best in peat soil and Onychiuridae in silt soil. The number of collected Collembolans was about nine times higher during the summer than in the winter. During winter Entomobryidae were also more abundant in pastures than in hayfields and also more abundant than Hypogastruridae in hayfields. In soil samples collected in September four species dominated: