Application of Soil Oribatid Mites as Bioindicators in Impact Areas of the Gas Industry in the West Siberian Tundra

Abstract

Atmospheric emissions from gas pre-treatment centers of the Gazprom Dobycha Yamburg LLC influenced the community of oribatid mites in southern tundra ecosystems. It was evidenced by changing the ratio of the ecological groups of the oribatid mites rather than its total abundance. The euedaphic oribatid mites prevailed essentially in the mites community of more contaminated biotopes located closer to the source of atmospheric pollution. In the conditions of decreasing pollution levels, the mites community structure was changed to predominance of litter-surface oribatid mites species, larger in size and typical for undisturbed natural communities. Level of pollution was evaluated on the basis of cumulative index of anthropogenic pollution load per unit of an ecosystem surface (I PLS ). It was found that the best characteristic of bioindication of pollution is the ratio of litter-topsoil oribatid mites to euedaphic ones (R L/S ). Very simple equation with significantly high determination coefficient was obtained to describe this dependence: R L/S = 4.84 -Ln(I PLS ).

Ecological indication potential of oribatid mites

“…This also makes them more resistant to damaging environmental effects. Therefore, the proportion of euedaphic species within the Oribatida community increases in contaminated areas compared to pristine areas (Andrievskii et al, 2015). They play an important role in nutrient cycling, soil formation and the maintenance of the soil structure (Wickings and Grandy, 2011).…”

Soil Fauna: A Retrospection with Reference to Indian Soil

“…The Mesostigmata are numerically dominant predators in soil and litter [128][129][130][131][132][133][134]. They are more active and respond more sensitivity over shorter periods of time to environmental influences in soil ecosystems than many other soil arthropods [132,[135][136][137].…”