Abstract:To examine the effects of varying organic fertilizer application rates on meso-micro soil arthropod communities in cultivated black soil areas, while maintaining a constant rate of inorganic fertilizer application, the experiment was carried out at the Agricultural Science and Technology Demonstration Park of Zhalaite Banner, Xing'an Meng, Inner Mongolia, from June to September of 2018 and 2019. Four levels of fertilizer application were tested: no fertilizer of control, low organic fertilizer rate of 15 000 kg/hm2, medium organic fertilizer rate of 30 000 kg/hm2, and high organic fertilizer rate of 45 000 kg/hm2. The results showed that: 1) A total of 509 786 meso-micro soil arthropods were captured, belonging to 66 taxa in 12 orders, and both Pygmephoridae and Isotomidae were the dominant species under the four fertilizer amounts, accounting for 45.90%-59.52% and 12.36%-21.66% of the total number of individuals, respectively; 2) A consistent positive response was found in the population of meso-micro soil arthropods to organic fertilizer application, both in terms of quantity and across different soil layers. Notably, the high organic fertilizer rate treatment significantly enhanced the development of meso-micro soil arthropod communities, suggesting it as the optimal fertilization rate; 3) The analysis of monthly dynamics showed that the combination of optimal hydrothermal conditions and the application of organic fertilizer in July and August had a synergistic positive effect on soil fauna. Pygmephoridae, Isotomidae and Phytoseiidae were identified as indicators of the positive effects of two-year organic fertilizer application on meso-micro soil arthropod communities, while Staphylinidae and Quadroppiidae served as indicators of negative impacts; 4) Redundancy analysis highlighted organic matter, bulk density, available potassium in 2018, and available phosphorus and buck density in 2019 as the primary factors influencing soil fauna community composition. Overall, applying organic fertilizer not only enhances soil quality in black soil areas but also improves the structure of meso-micro soil arthropod communities, creating a favorable habitat for these organisms.