Assessing soil quality of Italian Western Alps protected areas by QBS‐ar: impact of management and habitat type on soil microarthropods

Soil fauna has a crucial importance for the functioning of ecosystems and their conservation. Soil biota has a role in soil formation and distribution of organic matter, and groups like microarthropods can be used as indicators to assess soil quality and are often employed in monitoring programs. In the present study, the QBS-ar index, an index based on the presence/absence of microarthropod groups, was used to assess the level of soil quality in nine differ- ent sampling sites in the “Parco Naturale delle Alpi Marittime” and in the “Parco Naturale del Margua- reis” (Cuneo, Piedmont). Forest soils, with different degree of management, and open environments (e.g.,grasslands and peatlands) were analyzed compara- tively, to investigate whether microarthropod fauna might be influenced by management and habitat type. The results show QBS-ar values are significantly higher in woodland soils compared to grasslands and peatlands (p < 0.05). The latter shows no significant difference between each other, although grasslands show a large range of values (108–214). Forest man- agement does not seem to influence QBS-ar values (183–239), showing stable microarthropod commu- nities both in the managed and unmanaged areas. In addition to this, QBS-ar values do not differ signifi- cantly in the different forest coenoses, confirming that woodlands have similar index values (p = 0.7). This study confirms that QBS-ar values in natu- ral areas can vary depending on the environment. It is therefore important to consider clustering habi- tat types before assessing quality classes for QBS-ar values. Finally, sustainable forest management in the study area does not seem to affect significantly soil microarthropod presence in woodland sites.