Responses of oribatid mites to warming in boreal peatlands depend on fen type

Climate warming is expected to disproportionately affect high latitude and alpine systems such as boreal peat lands. Previous studies observing changes in both plant and microbial communities suggest boreal peatlands may shift from carbon sinks to sources under warming. But few studies have investigated oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) under climate change scenarios in peatland systems, despite oribatid mites being well represented in terms of diversity in boreal peatlands. We performed a large-scale experimental field manipulation of warming in two contrasting peatland sites in Northern Ontario, Canada, and sampled oribatid mites over four years following three years of passive warming and one full growing season of active warming. We found that warming had contrasting effects on the oribatid mite community at both peatland sites, and depended on the peatland type. Specifically, we observed an increase in species richness at the drier, Sphagnum-dominated site and a reduction in species richness at the wetter, Carex-dominated site. That said, we suggest that these outcomes arise from the same mechanism, namely warming-induced reductions in soil moisture that impacted semi-aquatic species and facilitated the establishment of new species, likely from surrounding forests. We also observed increases in small bodied species suggesting direct metabolic effects from warming. As such, we show that peatland oribatid mite community composition is driven to an extent by interactions between temperature and moisture but dependant on peatland type. As oribatid mite communities are responsive to multiple environmental changes, and play important mid-trophic level roles in soil food webs, changes in oribatid mite community composition may have consequences for carbon flux in peatland systems.

Automated summary

Climate warming is expected to have disproportionate impacts on high latitude and alpine systems, such as boreal peatlands. Research has shown that warming can lead to shifts in the oribatid mite community in peatlands, with effects varying depending on the peatland type. Changes in species richness were observed, with increased richness in drier, Sphagnum-dominated sites and decreased richness in wetter, Carex-dominated sites, likely due to warming-induced reductions in soil moisture.