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Arthropods play an essential role in steppe ecosystems. However, studies testing the overall response of terrestrial arthropods to overgrazing are scarce. The problem is particularly worrisome in Central Asia, while, to date, only a very few broader studies have been conducted in this region. We investigated how epigeic terrestrial arthropod assemblages respond to different livestock grazing pressure in two ecozones in SE Mongolia by examining their structure using pitfall traps. We also assessed which groups can be utilised as the most efficient indicators of grazing intensity. Our analyses demonstrated that the habitat type, grazing intensity, and the interaction of these variables had a significant effect on the overall species composition and abundance. However, the grazing intensity caused different changes in the composition of arthropod communities in both studied ecozones. Contrary to the semi-desert, in the steppe habitat, the grazing had the strongest impact in the moderately grazed site. It is most likely because steppe-dwelling species are more sensitive to loss of plant biomass and changes in habitat structure. We also found that the most representative species within and from different groups can react differently to changing grazing intensities, indicating with their presence the characteristics of the respective habitat. Such differences should also be considered when elaborating the management plan of conserved species but also when applying grazing management in different habitat types. Our survey is one of the most comprehensive in Central Asia and should help implement further, more targeted studies in the corresponding habitats. In meadow steppes and other arid habitats, livestock grazing is one of the most severe causes of desertification and leads to an overall decline in vegetation cover, plant species richness and aboveground biomass, and, consequently, most often negatively affects arthropod diversity. Although the impact of grazing on arthropod diversity has already been the subject of numerous studies, most of them were focused only on a single or small number of arthropods and were conducted outside Central Asia (e.g., there is only one paper dealing with analyses of several arthropod groups conducted in Mongolia, where over 40% of the human population depends on pastoral livestock production and up to 90% of its territory belongs to various arid areas). We hypothesise that the overall diversity of different arthropod groups will change according to the grazing intensities, and these changes will depend on the habitat type and will differ between arthropod groups. Our analyses demonstrated that the habitat type, grazing intensity, and the interaction of these two variables significantly impacted the overall species composition and abundance. Our results highlight that the different terrestrial arthropod groups and representative species of the most abundant groups can react differently to changes in grazing intensity, and such differences should be considered when elaborating the management plan of conserved species and when applying grazing management in different habitat types. Our results also highlight that the species diversity alone cannot indicate the changes in species composition along the grazing intensity, and one should also consider the individual needs of specific species while investigating the impact of grazing on arid habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Patterns in soil bacterial communities, and the factors that determine them, have been little explored in arid and semi-arid environments. It is unclear to what extent the diversity and community composition of arid-land soil bacterial communities follow vegetation habitats, or conversely other relatively independent soil variables. It is also unclear whether the factors (e.g. pH) that contribute to variation in bacterial communities in some moister environments also operate on a local scale in semi-arid environments. To identify the main factors in shaping bacterial community structure in semi-arid environments, we sampled a mosaic of habitats under different vegetation, landscape and edaphic conditions in central Mongolia, including steppe, forest-steppe, and abandoned wheat field. Soil DNA was extracted and pyrosequenced for 16S rRNA gene identification. NMDS results showed that bacterial community structures are slightly different from one habitat to another. However, the similarity between communities both within and between habitats is determined more strongly by soil texture than by vegetation type and drainage conditions. Moreover, the relative abundances of certain phyla are correlated with specific soil properties such as salinity and soil texture, in ways that have not previously been found in semi-arid environments. Actinobacteria, for example, show a negative correlation with salinity and Bacteroidetes display a positive relationship with percentage silt and clay. It also appears that the most important environmental variables (soil texture and salinity) affecting the bacterial community within this semi-arid environment are different from those found in moister environments, with no detectable effect of pH. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]