ABSTRACT
Institute for Environmental Studies, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Benátská 2, 128 00, Prague 2, Czech Republic. Institute of Soil Biology, Biology Centre AS CR, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic. Email: frouz@upb.cas.cz
way affecting soil nutrient dynamics (Anderson and Ineson 1984, Lavelle et al. 1997). These organisms also infl uence soil structure by binding soil particles together to form soil aggregates (Lavelle et al. 1997). Soil fauna, on the other hand, contributes only a little to plant litter mineralization; it does, however, affect the activity of soil microfl ora indirectly because of formation of various biogenic structures such as tunnels or various types of aggregates. Fauna can alter soil conditions not only by forming soil structure but also through the distribution of organic matter, which can indirectly affect many soil processes, including decomposition rate (Lavalle et al. 1997, Ponge 2003). Moreover, soil fauna often contributes to the formation of persistent structures that can accumulate in soil over time and eventually alter conditions in the whole soil profi le (Lavelle et al. 1997).
