Figure 3: Macro- and micro-scale perspectives of habitat loss belowground.

(a) A more anthropocentric perspective of what represents habitat loss for belowground ecosystems: tillage, urbanization, pollution; (b) from a soil biota perspective the drivers of extinctions can be localized, however, at a more intricate, microscopic level. At this microscale level, the effects of (1) water availability and aeration; (2) host extinction; (3) loss of soil structure; (4) declines in carbon substrate availability are depicted within a soil habitat. The three macroscopic examples of habitat loss are linked to various effects at the microscopic level. For instance tillage can compromise aeration, lead to extinction of arthropod hosts and impair soil aggregation; urbanization other than impacting arthropod hosts can have pronounced effects on substrate availability; and soil pollution can affect carbon substrate availability. Note scale in images. Image credits (Author, ‘description’, year, modifications (license)): left panel—We El, ‘Beploegd veld’, cropped, 2005 (CC BY-SA 3.0), central panel—Baba Ovian, ‘Dwarka Expressway’, cropped, 2013 (CC BY-SA 3.0), right panel—Nils Ally, ‘Litter’, cropped, 2010 (CC BY 3.0). Source: Wikipedia. Used according to the terms of a GNU Free Documentation License.