Abstract: Soil fauna plays an important role in ecosystem nutrient cycling. Soil arthropods play a fundamental role in litter breaking process and in the formation of soil aggregates. We examined the effects of chronic N deposition on soil arthropod communities in a Pleioblastus amarus plantation in the rainy area of west China, with a field experiment involving monthly simulated N deposition using NH₄NO₃ since 2007. There were four levels of N addition: control (0 g N·m^-2·a^-1), low N (5 g N·m^-2·a^-1), medium N (15 g N·m^-2·a^-1) and high N (30 g N·m^-2·a^-1). After six and half years of treatment, litter of P. amarus and soil samples were collected in January 2014, October 2014 and January 2015. The results showed that 1852 individuals of soil arthropods were found, which could be classified into 3 phyla, 7 classes and 18 orders. The individuals and species number of soil arthropods increased with increasing N deposition levels in the litter layer, being significantly higher in the high N treatment than that in control. In the soil layer, the individuals and species number of soil arthropods decreased with increasing N deposition levels, although there was no significant difference among the different treatments. Simulated N deposition had no significant effects on the Shannon diversity, Pielou evenness, and Menhinick richness indices of soil arthropods in both litter layer and soil layer.

Key words: Bohai Bay, sulfate-reducing prokaryotes, enrichment culture, sulfate-reducing activity, nitrate.