Stable isotope technique is important for understanding the structure and function of soil food web, which is considered as a belowground black box. We reviewed typical application cases of stable isotope techniques in the research of soil food webs, including to determine food sources and feeding preferences of soil fauna by using isotopes, and to analyze the trophic structure of soil food webs through isotope fractionation effects during the process of feeding and nutrient sequestration by soil fauna. Additionally, stable isotope techniques could reveal the role of soil biota at different trophic levels within soil food web in ecosystem matter and energy flow, which favored to carry out accurate and efficient research on the contribution of soil food webs to soil carbon and nitrogen cycling process and the corresponding influence mechanism. We further put forward the limitations of current stable isotope techniques and the future development directions.
稳定同位素技术的发展为深入揭示地下黑箱-土壤食物网的结构和功能提供了重要的方法和手段。本文回顾了稳定同位素技术在土壤食物网研究中的应用,主要包括利用同位素确定土壤动物的食源和食性偏好;通过土壤动物取食与固持养分过程中的同位素分馏效应,分析土壤食物网的营养级结构;此外,稳定同位素技术还揭示了土壤食物网各营养级土壤生物在土壤生态系统物质能量流动中的作用,有助于准确高效地开展土壤食物网在土壤碳氮循环过程中的贡献及作用机理研究。本文同时指出了目前稳定同位素技术的局限性,展望了未来重点发展的方向。.
Keywords: carbon and nitrogen cycles; predatory relationship; soil food web; stable isotope; trophic level.