The Contemporary State of Soils and Mesofauna in the “Golubye Ozera” Nature Preserve of the Republic of Tatarstan

Abstract

The contemporary state of soils and their mesofauna in the “Golubye Ozera” Nature Preserve have been studied. The soil cover of the studied territory consists of sod-podzolic, sod-calcareous, and alluvial soils. The morphological structure and physicochemical properties of the soils are determined by the influence of relief, depth of carbonate rocks, level of groundwaters, and anthropogenic factor. The concentration of heavy metals in the humus horizons complied with the background values. The trophic structure and abundance of soil mesofauna in the investigated biotopes were usual for natural forest ecosystems of the Western Pre-Kama Region. Soil mesofauna in the nature preserve included 20 taxa and varied by biotopes, regardless of the recreation degree. It has been found that the structure and population of soil animals are influenced by the types of soil, phytocenosis, as well as by the degree of anthropogenic load.

Keywords

• sod-podzolic soils
• sod-calcareous soils
• alluvial soils
• soil mesofauna
• trophic groups
• taxonomic diversity
• microelements
• recreation
• phytocenosis