Density, diversity and assemblage structure of Mesostigmata (cohorts Gamasina and Uropodina) were investigated in nine grassy arable fallows according to a factorial design with age class (2–3, 6–8, 12–15 years) and plant species (legume: Medicago sativa, herb: Taraxacum officinale, grass: Bromus sterilis) as factors. The response of Mesostigmata to habitat age and plant species was explored because this group belongs to the dominant acarine predators playing a crucial role in soil food webs and being important as biological control agents. To our knowledge, this combination of factors has never been studied before for Mesostigmata. A further rarely applied aspect of the present study is the micro-scale approach investigating the Mesostigmata assemblage of the soil associated with single plants. Four plots were randomly chosen at each fallow in May 2008. At each plot plant roots and the adjacent soil of five randomly selected plant individuals per plant species were dug out with steel cylinders for heat extraction of soil fauna and measurement of environmental parameters. In total, 83 mite taxa were identified, with 50 taxa being new to Austria. GLM analysis revealed a significant effect of plant species on mite density, with significantly more mites in B. sterilis than in T. officinale samples, and M. sativa samples being intermediate. This was in contrast to the assumption that the mite density is highest in M. sativa samples due to the propagation of plant quality effects to higher trophic levels. These results were probably caused by a higher amount of fine roots in grass samples leading to high densities of Collembola, which are preferred prey of predatory mites. Mite density did not significantly differ between the three age classes. A canonical analysis of principal coordinates (CAP) showed that the mite assemblage exhibited a weak yet significant separation between plant species, and a highly significant separation between age classes. Accordingly, different mite assemblages were found for the three age classes, while only few mite species were clearly associated with a single plant species. Finally, canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) revealed that the mite assemblage was best explained by soil organic carbon, total density of Collembola and water content.

Context: Large near-natural rivers have become rare in Europe, a fact reflected in the high conservation status of many riverine ecosystems. While the Balkan still harbors several intact river corridors, most of these are under pressure from planned hydropower constructions. Unfortunately, there is little information available on the hydromorphodynamics and biota of Balkan rivers under threat. Objectives: We present a synthesis of research on the Vjosa in Southern Albania. Here, longitudinal continuity in water flow, undisturbed sediment transport and intact fluvial dynamics are still maintained, but threatened by two large dams planned in its downstream section. We intend to provide a first multidisciplinary inventory of this river system as an example of the knowledge base required for sound water management decisions in the Balkans. Methods: Based on field work of a multidisciplinary consortium of scientists from Albania and other countries conducted from 2017 onwards, we summarize the most important findings on geomorphology of the riverine landscape, habitat turnover rates, vegetation ecology and selected animal taxa. Results: We found evidence that significant areas (86%) of the river corridor are covered by habitats listed in Annex 1 of the European Union Habitats Directive. These are associated with a high number of threatened biota. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the value of the Vjosa as one of the few remaining reference sites for dynamic floodplains in Europe and as a natural laboratory for interdisciplinary research. We emphasize that such multidisciplinary studies are a prerequisite for informed evaluation of potential impacts caused by hydropower plants.

The study compared psychological and physiological health effects of short-term stays at managed and abandoned meadows, a mountain river, and an urban site of a dependent sample of 22 adult participants (mean age 27) during an 11-day field trip. The study found that pulse rates decreased during the stays at all the meadows and the urban site while no decrease was observed at the river. Blood pressure increased at all sites during the stay, with no study-site differences for systolic, but for diastolic, blood pressure. Participants reported more positive psychological health effects as a result of their stays at the most remote meadow and the river on attention restoration, stress reduction and wellbeing compared to the urban site, while no differences in health perceptions were observed between managed and unmanaged meadows. This study suggests that perceived and measured health benefits were independent of the degree of naturalness of meadows. While differences measured on the physiological level between urban built and natural sites were marginal, psychological measures showed higher health benefits of the natural environments compared to the built one.

Oribatid mites are one of the numerically dominant arthropod groups in soils. They play an important role in soil food webs via regulating the decomposition of organic matter and propagating microorganisms within the soil. To our knowledge, the influence of different plant functional groups on oribatid mites has not been studied in abandoned farmland with undisturbed succession before. The density and assemblage structure of oribatid mites in nine grassy arable fallows relative to three habitat age classes (2–3, 6–8, 12–15 years) and three selected plant species (legume: Medicago sativa, forb: Taraxacum officinale, grass: Bromus sterilis) were investigated in soil associated with single plants.