The response of springtails to fire in the fynbos of the Western Cape, South Africa Charlene Janion-Scheepers a,e, *, Jan Bengtsson b , Hans Petter Leinaas c , Louis Deharveng d , Steven L. Chown a,e a Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, South Africa b Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Ecology, Box 7044, SE-750 07, Uppsala, Sweden c Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Box 1066, N-0316, Oslo, Norway d Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité ISYEB – UMR 7205 – CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, EPHE, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, 45 Rue Buffon, F-75005, Paris, France e School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia A R T I C L E I N F O Article history: Received 1 April 2016 Received in revised form 13 July 2016 Accepted 1 August 2016 Available online xxx Keywords: Biodiversity Return time Resilience Soil microarthropods Western Cape A B S T R A C T Although fire is a natural form of disturbance in many ecosystems, the frequency of fires is increasing due to human activities. Hence, understanding the impacts of fire on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning has become increasingly important. In this study we investigated the effects of a large-scale fire on an important soil-dwelling group, springtails (Collembola), one year before and for three consecutive years after a fire in the fire-prone fynbos ecosystem in South Africa. In particular, we investigate the resistance of the springtail assemblages (i.e. their ability to remain relatively unchanged in the face of a disturbance), and their resilience (i.e. ability to return to a pre-disturbance state). To do this we sampled two sites with contrasting vegetation (Erica and Protea) and used three different standardized litter types in litterbag traps. A total of 35 springtail species from 31 genera and 14 families was found. The springtail assemblages in this fynbos system showed slightly more resistance to fire than resilience after the fire event, though substantial variation was found among vegetation types. Mean species richness and abundance per litterbag varied among the Protea and Erica sites, with resistant species being dominant in the Erica site, while species that showed an increase after the fire were dominant in the Protea site. Differences were also found between life forms: atmobiotic (free-living in vegetation) and epiedaphic (surface dwelling) species showed a significant decline in mean species richness directly after the fire in the Erica site. Euedaphic (soil-dwelling) species richness remained unchanged post-fire in the Erica site, while actually slightly increasing after the fire in the Protea site. Although the fynbos springtail assemblages had not fully recovered to pre-fire abundance after three years, many species appear to be resistant to or recover rapidly after fires, at least as ascertained over the relatively short (four years) duration of the study. It is likely that this response is influenced by the presence of suitable refugia within sites and by species-specific traits. Given changing fire regimes and the increasing frequency of fires due to human disturbances, the system will likely become more dominated by resistant springtail species preferring nutrient rich circumstances and easily decomposed litters. ã 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction In many ecosystems, fire is a major natural form of disturbance. Although fire has been used by humans to alter landscapes for a long time (Bond et al., 2005), in many areas fire regimes have been altered substantially over the last several decades (Goldammer and Price, 1998; Syphard et al., 2009). Often these changes have been associated with specific conservation management goals. Indeed, fire is widely used as a tool for biodiversity management in protected areas (Pastro et al., 2011; Kelly et al., 2012). Evidence is growing, however, that fire regimes are also shifting as a consequence of changing climates and growing human popula- tions (Stocks et al., 1998; Running, 2006; Syphard et al., 2009;). The fire-prone fynbos vegetation of the Western Cape of South Africa provides a clear example of this trend. Fires usually occur at * Corresponding author at: School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia. E-mail address: charlene.janionscheepers@monash.edu (C. Janion-Scheepers). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2016.08.001 0929-1393/ã 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Applied Soil Ecology 108 (2016) 165–175 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Applied Soil Ecology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apsoil