Spatial avoidance of patches of polluted chernozem soils by soil invertebrates

Abstract Soil invertebrates and heavy metal concentrations are heterogeneously distributed in the soil of steppe plots surrounding an iron mining enterprise in southern Russia. This study assesses whether patches of high soil invertebrate abundance coincide with patches of low concentrations of pollutants. For this aim, spatial analysis by distance indices (SADIE) was applied. Three valleys in Belogorye Nature Reserve were chosen. One valley faced the tailing pond to the north and the other two faced south‐east or south‐west. Two sampling plots were chosen in each valley, 60 m apart from each other. On every plot 16 soil cores were collected from a grid of 4 × 4 units with a 5‐m distance between each sample unit. Each soil core had an area of 76 cm 2 and was 12–15 cm deep. All macroinvertebrates were hand‐sorted and identified to family. Abundance of soil invertebrates was not controlled by patches of metal concentration in the soil. Epigaeic groups, like insects and other invertebrates inhabiting the litter layer, were not directly associated with local parameters of the soil. On the contrary, belowground invertebrate abundance (elaterid larvae and earthworms) showed significant dissociation with some heavy metal (Fe, Pb, Zn) concentrations in the soil. The patchiness of soil pollution may act as a leading factor of belowground soil invertebrate distribution. The spatial structure of animal populations in industrially transformed soils needs further research.