Coarse Woody Debris as Microhabitats of Soil Macrofauna in Polluted Areas

We built a map of the distribution of earthworm abundance in coniferous forests in the area affected by long-term emissions from the Middle Ural Copper Smelter. It is established that a “lumbricide desert” of about 65 km 2 without earthworms in the forest litter and soil mineral horizons has been fo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences 2020, Vol.47 (1), p.87-96
Main Authors: Vorobeichik, E. L., Ermakov, A. I., Nesterkova, D. V., Grebennikov, M. E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Biochemistry
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Cell Biology
Cocoons
Coniferous forests
Ecology
Emissions
Heavy metals
Life Sciences
Macrofauna
Oligochaeta
Recolonization
Smelters
Toxicity
Zoology
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Summary:We built a map of the distribution of earthworm abundance in coniferous forests in the area affected by long-term emissions from the Middle Ural Copper Smelter. It is established that a “lumbricide desert” of about 65 km 2 without earthworms in the forest litter and soil mineral horizons has been formed near the smelter due to extremely high concentrations of heavy metals. However, we have also found that earthworms (only Dendrodrilus rubidus tenuis ) inhabit logs of the late stages of decomposition in this area. Their abundance is comparable to that in the soil of unpolluted (background) areas; single individuals (including cocoons) were also found in the soil directly under the logs. Gastropods, which are absent in standard soil samples in this area, were also recorded in these logs (five species). We suppose that the presence of such “survival microsites” may serve as a mechanism of recolonization of polluted areas by groups sensitive to pollution after the reduction of emissions, followed by a decrease in soil toxicity.
ISSN:1062-3590
1608-3059
DOI:10.1134/S1062359020010173