| In order to understand the response of soil mesofauna to the stover mulching amount and frequency, the study was carried out at the Conservation Tillage Research and Development Base of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Jilin Province. The study included five treatments: high frequency and low amount stover mulching (HF-1/3), high frequency and high amount stover mulching (HF-2/3), low frequency and low amount stover mulching (LF-1/3), low frequency and high amount stover mulching (LF-2/3), and conventional tillage with no stover mulching (CT) as the control. The results showed that compared to CT, stover mulching significantly increased the density of soil mesofauna. The total density of soil mesofauna was significantly higher in spring and autumn for LF-2/3 and HF-2/3, respectively, and significantly higher in summer for high frequency than for low frequency. Community diversity was significantly higher in LF-1/3 than HF-2/3 only in summer; evenness was significantly higher in HF-2/3 than LF-2/3 in spring and lowest in HF-2/3 in summer and autumn. The response of the density of Acari and their high proportion suborder of Oribatida to the mulching frequency and amount was consistent with the total density of mesofauna. The density of Collembola was significant different among treatments in spring and autumn, with LF-2/3 and HF-2/3 being the highest, respectively. The density of Hypogastruridae in HF-1/3 was significantly higher than LF-1/3 in summer; while the density of Hypogastruridae in HF-2/3 was significantly higher than LF-2/3, and HF-1/3 was significantly higher than LF-1/3 in autumn. The density of Isotomidae in HF-2/3 was significantly higher than LF-2/3. The density of Entomobryidae was the high frequency stover mulching was higher than the low frequency stover mulching. The density of Diptera larvae in spring was significantly higher in LF-2/3 than in CT; the HF-1/3 was the highest in both summer and autumn. For the density ratio of Acari to Collembola (A/C), it was LF-2/3 significantly higher in spring than HF-2/3; LF-1/3 and CT were significantly higher than HF-1/3, HF-2/3, and LF-2/3 in autumn. The total density of mesofauna in each treatment was relatively low in spring and reaches its highest value in autumn. The diversity and evenness indices were mostly highest in summer except for HF-2/3. The A/C in each treatment was highest in spring and lowest in autumn. In summary, compared to the amount, the frequency of stover mulching was more favorable to the conservation of soil mesofauna. |