Diversity of ground-dwelling arthropods on overburden dumps after coal mining

Abstract

Technogenic landscapes formed by coal mining are unique model sites for studying primary succession. We studied the formation of arthropod communities on rock dumps at coal mine dump sites of different ages and in natural environments. Using the pitfall traps, 5 classes of arthropods were found, with the domination of Insecta and Arachnida. The species composition for most of the studied groups of invertebrates was determined, the Berger-Parker dominance and Shannon species diversity indices were calculated. It has been established that the colonization of dumps depends not only on the age of recultivated lands, but also on habitat conditions (soil characteristics, vegetation parameters). At the beginning of the succession, dumps are massively populated by small-sized species that are tolerant of extreme conditions and have high dispersal abilities. Further development of vegetation entailed a change in the general structure of the ground-dwelling of arthropods communities. Discriminant analysis showed that the macrofauna of the compared sites differs statistically significantly in the space of discriminant functions. The areas at the foot of the dump and the natural biotope are characterized by the maximum differences; the greatest similarity was found between the young and old dumps. A significant contribution to the overall discrimination is made by the beetles of the families Geotrupidae, Staphylinidae, Elateridae, as well as centipedes (Chilopoda), and terrestrial bugs (Hemiptera). This study showed that communities of ground invertebrates are good indicators for monitoring the restoration of technogenically disturbed lands.