Flooded paddy soils exhibit higher tardigrade diversity than adjacent upland soils

Résumé fourni par la source

Abstract Tardigrades are well known for their ability to endure desiccation via cryptobiosis, yet their responses to soil moisture variation remain poorly understood in agro-ecosystems. To explore these, we used metabarcoding approaches to investigate tardigrades in 16 pairs of adjacent flooded paddy and non-flooded upland soils, which represent contrasting moisture conditions. Tardigrades were detected in 64 out of 96 samples, with a higher detection rate in paddy soils (88%) compared with upland soils (46%). Paddy soils exhibited significantly higher tardigrade richness and distinct community composition compared to upland soils. Eleven taxonomic lineages were identified in all those samples, with Hypsibius dominating paddy soils and Ursulinius dominating upland soils. Moreover, the proportion of herbivorous tardigrades was significantly higher in paddy soils than in upland soils. Our findings provide evidence that field-management practices and their associated changes in soil biotic and physicochemical properties may critically influence tardigrade richness, community composition, and ecological associations, as well as their contribution to soil food webs. Furthermore, our study underscores that the genera Hypsibius, Grevenius, Acutuncus, Pilatobius, Dianea, and Pseudobiotus are closely associated with soil moisture conditions, suggesting potential sensitivity to altered soil water availability under future climate or land-use change.

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