Eсomorphic structure of the soil macrofauna communities of technosols of the Nikopol Manganese Ore Basin

This study established features of the animal population of artificial soil-like bodies – technosols in terms of ecomorphic analysis. The survey was conducted at the research station of the Dnipro State Agricultural University in the city Pokrov in 2012–2014. The experimental polygons were laid within four technosol types: pedozems, sod loess-like lithogenic soils on loam, grey-green clay and red-brown clay. The polygon consisted of 15 transects and each transect was composed of seven test sites. The distance between rows in the polygon was 3 m. Each test site was a square with size 3 × 3 m. The manual sorting of the soil-zoological samples was conducted within each site for areas 0.25 × 0.25 m to the depth where animals were found. Samples were taken in late April or early May. In general, for each period of counting for each polygon 105 soil-zoological samples were taken 123 species of invertebrates were found in the soil macrofauna community of the technosols. These communities are a steppe monoceonosis with a tendency to transformations into pseudoomonoceonosis on account of increased share of pratants. The soil macrofauna of sod lithogenic soils on grey-green clay and loam on loes-like clays is most adapted to xerophilous condition. Animal communities in pedozems and sod-lithogenic soils or on red-brown clay have a more mesophilic character. The trophoceonomorphic structure of the soil macrofauna community indicates a significant potential of the fertility of artificial soil. The aeromorphs’ structure reveals a significant ability of technosols to create cracks and pores, which can lead to hyperaeration. The dominant part of the of soil macrofauna community was hypercarbonatophils. Against the background of the steppe character, the soil macrofauna community had a topomorphic structure that is unusual for natural steppe black soil biogeocenoses on loess-like loam. The trophomorph structure was greatly dominated by phytophages, which indicates the prevalence of processes of mineralization of plant residues under the humification process. The phoromorphic spectrum of soil animal communities was dominated by ecological groups which move without the active construction of tunnels