Collembola mainly perform which function in soil?

• A. Promote water infiltration
• B. Build soil aggregates
• C. Recycle nutrients and decompose organic matter
• D. Fix nitrogen gas

Answer: (C)

Collembola are detritivores that help recycle nutrients by breaking down and processing organic matter in the soil. They feed on decaying plant material and fungi, and by fragmenting litter and grazing on microbial communities, they speed up decomposition and mineralization. This releases nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus back into the soil for plants to use. They don’t fix atmospheric nitrogen—that role belongs to certain bacteria—and they aren’t the primary builders of soil aggregates; those functions are more characteristic of fungi, bacteria, and some macrofauna like earthworms. So their main contribution in soil is accelerating the breakdown of organic matter and making nutrients available again.