Abstract: 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.

Key words: Chl a, N, P, K, Microcystis spp