Restoration strategy drives the leaf litter myriapod richness (Arthropoda: Myriapoda) on a protected area

Objective: To determine the leaf litter myriapod community in two restoration strategies of a protective area of Colombia, a secondary forest and an Andean alder plantation. Scope: The knowledge of the biodiversity of invertebrates associated with leaf litter breakdown in restoration forests may contribute to assessing the restoration process efficiency and success. Within this forested soil biodiversity framework, myriapods influence organic matter dynamics by transforming leaf litter (or other plant-derived materials), reducing the surface of decomposition, and affecting decomposer communities and their interactions. Methodology: We designed a leaf litter translocation experiment using leaf litter of Alnus acuminata Kunth and Hedyosmum bonplandianum Kunth, the most abundant species in each restoration strategy underway from the 60s in the Reserva Natural Río Blancoy Quebrada Olivares, Manizales, Colombia. We measured the myriapod richness and abundance two and four months after beginning the leaf litter decomposition experimental trials. Main results: Classes Diplododa, Chilopoda, and Symphyla colonized the leaf litter in both restoration strategies. The restoration strategy affected myriapod richness, abundance and composition. Myriapod richness and abundance were greater in the Andean alder plantation, millipedes were the most abundance myriapods. Myriapod composition also differs among litter species. The plant composition of each restoration strategy could lead to differences in litterfall quality and, consequently, in the resources available for the colonization of the myriapod community, which contributes directly and indirectly to the decomposition process in the restoration strategies.