The article presents the results of evaluation of the role of edaphic and vegetation factors on beta diversity of soil macrofauna by means of the MDM-approach. The multinomial diversity model (MDM) is a method for relating the Shannon diversity to ecological factors. The research was conducted in the ‘Dnipro-Orils’kiy’ Nature Reserve (Ukraine). The research polygon was laid in the forest within the Orlova ravine (48º31’13 “N, 34º48”15 “E). The study site comprises 1.0 ha of deciduous woodland bordered by an area of herbaceous cover within the ravine. In the soil of the studied polygon, 38 species of soil invertebrates were identified, which characterizes the gamma diversity. Alpha diversity, or the number of species on average at each sample point is 4.3. Beta diversity is 8.8. The principal component analysis of the edaphic parameters revealed four statistically significant principal components. For vegetation characteristics, six statistically significant principal components were identified. The sequential analysis of the effects shows that edaphic factors accounted for 20.9% (0.81 bit) of the available entropy (1.71–0.91). The largest decrease in the community entropy takes place under the action of the principal components 2 and 3 (0.06 bit and 0.05, respectively). A permutation test showed that these effects are statistically significant. In turn, 28.4% of the community β-diversity is attributable to vegetation factors. The greatest decrease in community entropy is related to the principal vegetation components 1, 3 and 4 (0.07, 0.05 and 0.04 bits, respectively). A permutation test indicated that this effect is statistically reliable. Geostatistical models substantially describe the varying effects on the beta-diversity of edaphic principal components 1 and 2, and the vegetation principal components 1 and 3. It was found that edaphic and plant factors play an important role in structuring the communities of soil macrofauna on the level of beta diversity. Community sensitivity to environmental factors varies in space and is spatially structured. For different environmental factors, specific spatial patterns of community sensitivity are allocated. Beta diversity may be due to the fact that the species of soil macrofauna communities also vary in the degree of sensitivity to various environmental factors. The species of soil microfauna are also divided according to their extent of sensitivity to different ecological factors.

В работе разработаны подходы для применения катенеарного метода изучения разнообразия животного населения почв аренного ландшафта долины р. Днепр (в пределах природного заповедника «Днепровско-Орельский)» с помощью фитоиндикационного оценивания основных трендов изменчивости экологических условий и на основе оценок свойств среды по показателям растительности верифицированы экоморфы почвенных животных. Исследуемый полигон заложен в северно-восточной части природного заповедника «Днепровско-Орельский». Ширина полигона составляет 3260 м, высота -2850 м, его общая площадь составляет 930 га. В пределах полигона заложены пять пробных площадей: на склоне песчаной дюны на границе песчаной степи и чернокленового кустарника; на склоне северной экспозиции в балке Орловой в чернокленовой дубраве с ежой; в притеррасной пойме рeки Проточь на границе с нижней частью склона арены в вязо-осокорнике с будрой; в заболоченном притоке реки Проточи на границе болотного и лесного биогеоценозов; в пойме реки Проточь в луговом сообществе в градиенте от болотного сообщества до остепненного луга. Каждая пробная площадь представлена 105 квадратами размером 3×3 м. Квадраты расположены в 7 смежных рядов по 15 квадратов в каждом. Пробная площадь в эксперименте имеет размеры 21×45 м. Большая сторона пробной площади располагалась вдоль визуально заметного на местности градиента топографических условий и растительного покрова. В каждом квадрате произведено описание растительности с оценкой проективного покрытия с лагом 10 %. В центре каждого квадрата заложена почвенно-зоологическая проба 0,25×0,25 м. Для ординации сообществ мезопедобионтов была применена процедура многомерного шкалирования на основе метрики Брея-Куртиса с предварительной трансформацей данных по Хеллинджеру. Установлено, что фитоиндикационные оценки экологических режимов являются статистически достоверными предикторами многомерных шкал, полученных при ординации сообществ мезопедобионтов. Измерение 1 в наибольшей степени может быть объяснено градиентом условий трофности эдафотопа, измерение 2 -влажностью, измерение 3 -режимом аэрации почвы, 4 -количеством карбонатов. Измерения 5 и 6 имеют сложную факторную природу, которую сложно интерпретировать содержательно. Оценка экологических режимов с помощью фитоиндикационных шкал позволила установить значение аэрации и карбонатности почв в структурировании сообществ почвенных животных. Полученный результат делает обоснованным выделение новых экоморф почвенных животных -аэроморф и карбонатоморф. Аэроморфы -экологическая группа, которая объединяет почвенных животных, предпочитающих подобные условия аэрации почвы, среди которых выделены аэрофили, субаэрофилы, гемиаэрофобы и субаэрофобы. Карбонатоморфы -экологическая группа, которая объединяет почвенных животных, предпочитающих подобные условия карбонатности почвы, среди которых выделены карбонатофобы, акарбонатофилы, гемикарбонатофилы, карбонатофилы и гиперкарбонатофилы. Классический катенеарный подход для изучения ландшафтного и биогеоценотического разнообразия дополнен оценкой экологических...

We revealed the functional groups of the animals of sod pinewood soils (arena of the river Dnepr in the "Dneprovsko-Orelsky" Nature Reserve) on the basis of cluster analysis of the RLQ-axes received as result of interaction of matrix of community, matrix of edaphic parameters and matrix of ecomorphs of soil animals. The quantitative account of soil mesofauna has allowed us to establish that the community of animals inhabiting sod pinewood soils is represented by 20 species at a density of 68.9 ± 14.6 ind./m2, 8 forms were identified at the level of genus, family or order. Two species were represented by their larval and imago phases (Anatolica eremita (Steven, 1829) and Calathus ambiguus (Paykull, 1790)). A count of animals conducted in an alternative way has allowed us to expand the list to 38 species or forms at species level. The level of abundance and diversity for sod pinewood soils on the arena is not high compared with other types of soils of the arena of the river Dnepr. This result shows that the community has a simplified ecological structure. The prevailing ecological structure of the community can be characterised as steppe, xerophilous, oligotrophocoenomorphic. Anecic animals are absent from the topomorphic structure and saprophagous animals absent from the trophic structure. Only additional collection by alternative methods has allowed us to establish the presence in the community of saprophagous and anecic animals. The latter ecological group is represented by the extremely mobile vertebrate species Pelobates fuscus. The foromorphic structure of the community differs by its great variety. In this structure various strategies of animals’ movement through the soil are proportionately represented. On the one hand, we see various ways of movement of herpetobiont animals, mainly insect imagoes, which as a whole differ in their considerable migratory potential. This circumstance staticizes the historical reasons for the formation of the studied community. On the other hand, in the community there are various strategies of movement in the soil that allow us to assume or determine the reasons or causes of structurization of an ecological niche. Environmental factors are described by two groups of indicators, edaphic properties and values of phytoindicator scales. The mesopedobionts community structure is presented as a classical matrix of species/sampling points. The ecology of communities is principally focused not on taxonomic features but on biological properties (traits) of species. Such features can act on ecomorphs of soil animals. The direct functional analysis of relationship of biological properties of species with variables of environment by means of data on the abundance of species demands association of three matrixes of data. Such problem can be tackled by means of the RLQ-analysis. A key aspect of structurization of communities of soil mesofauna is differentiation in trophic traits. The organisation of a community of soil animals in an ecological space set by axes RLQ can be displayed in the form of a natural variation of RLQ-axes in geographical space. Everything in the RLQ is represented, as follows from the mathematical nature of this generalisation, an independent aspect of the coordinated variation of structure of a community of soil animals, properties of environment and ecomorphic features of mesopedobionts.

Investigated polygon laid in the northeastern part of the "Dnieper-Orilskyy" natural reserve. Five test plots were laid within polygon. The most common moisture conditions within the explored catena meet meadow steppe regime. For most studied soil moistening the soil plays an essential role in the water regime. Groundwater was at a depth that exceeds the depth of the cut in chornozem-like pine-forest soil and in a sod-forest chornozem-like soil. In other soils, the water level was 155 cm in sod-forest chornozem-like soil, 98 cm in alluvial meadow soil and 83 cm or 135 cm in alluvial meadow marsh soils. The conditions of the salt regime can be attributed to the soils of the studied catena categorized as poor soils. The chornozem-like pine-forest soil has a wide range of variability salt regime, while the alluvial meadow marsh soil has a wide range of variability humidity conditions. The most favorable conditions for plants of the mesotrophic group formed in the meadow alluvial soil and in sod-forest chornozem-like soils and for semioligotrophic-in sod-forest chornozem-like gleic soil. Forest ecosystems within catena are characterized by similarity of water regime conditions. Sandy steppe ecotopes in the catena are characterized by the highest volatility of the moisture conditions. The most common acid regime within catena can be considered as characteristic for weak-acid soil / neutral soils. The acarbonatophiles are the most typical for catena studied. Plants of this ecological group are living in neutral ecotopes and kept the minor content of carbonates in the soil. The alluvial meadow marsh soil is characterized by smallest carbonates level, and the alluvial meadow solohchak soil is characterized by the largest carbonates level. In the chornozem-like pine-forest soil the effervescence from HCl treatment war not revealed. The depth of effervescence of processing 10% solution of HCl is 64 cm in sod-forest chornozem-like soil, 31 cm in alluvial meadow soil, 18 cm in alluvial meadow marsh soil or from the surface. The sod-forest chornozem-like soil boils on the surface. Sod-forest soil chornozem-like boils from the depth of 127 cm. The content of digestible forms of nitrogen is an important aspect of the edaphotope trophicity. Within catena the most typical is an ecotope where conditions are favorable for nitrophiles. The lowest level of nitrogen nutrition set was found in sandy steppe (chornozem-like pine-forest soil), and the highest-in the forest ecosystems (sod-forest chornozem-like soils). The subaerophiles are the most typical for catena studied. The marsh biogeocoenosis are characterized by significantly aggravated conditions of aeration. It generated conditions conducive to subaerophobes-aerophobes.

<p>It is shown that in the area of sandy steppe in a nature reserve "Dnieper-Orelsky" the soil temperature has been changed from 17.2 to 31.0 ° C. Loci with higher temperatures are on the left and right ends of the landfill, whereas the plot with lower temperature was located in the central region. There is a tendency of spatial variability of soil temperature, which could be explained by vegetation location and edaphic characteristics. We calculated the indicators of spatial dependence and the radius of influence with the help of geostatistical method and proved that the target plot had high degree of spatial dependence.</p><p>It was established that the spatial variability of soil temperature is associated with vegetation and other soil characteristics within the studied plot. Woody plants, geophytes, and the number of roots have a negative correlation with all the studied parameters. A positive correlation was calculated for soil temperature and hemycryptophytes, terophytes, and hamephytes. The soil temperature has negative correlation with the humidity, whereas the soil density is positively correlated with soil temperature.<em> </em><em></em></p>