Community structure of soil fauna along an altitudinal gradient in Taibai Mountain of Tiantong Region, Zhejiang Province

An investigation was made on the soil fauna along an altitudinal gradient in the Taibai Mountain of Tiantong region, Zhejiang Province in summer 2007. Across the altitudinal gradient, a total of 12635 individuals belonging to 6 phyla, 15 classes and 33 orders were collected. With increasing altitude, the density of soil fauna decreased, but the group number was less affected. There was a higher co-occurrence of soil faunal communities along the altitudinal gradient, and Nematoda, Acarina, and Collembola were the dominant groups. Below the altitude 370 m, the Shannon-Wiener index, Pielou index, and Margalef abundance index increased with increasing altitude; while above the altitude 370 m, the Shannon-Wiener index and Pielou index decreased but the abundance index increased after an initial slight decrease.