Factors determining the origin and maintenance of redundant species diversity of the soil animal population (by a case study of the Far East)

Abstract

The factors determining the origin and maintenance of a high taxonomic diversity of soil commu nities are discussed by a case study of the key groups constituting the soil saproblock. The bulk of the species richness in the southern Far East is localized to the coniferous-deciduous forests retaining the tertiary ele ments in their flora and ancient relations with the Asian tropical fauna. The roles of the following factors are considered: the long term geographic isolation in the absence of catastrophic climate changes; pyrogenic effects, enhancing formation of isolated survival sites; and abundance of mutagenesis in various pedobiont groups. The high species richness of individual taxocenes in combination with a high topic association in the distribution of closely related and ecologically similar species suggests the absence of competitive exclusion. It has been demonstrated that this phenomenon is determined, on the one hand, by rich resource reserves and their spatial differentiation in the soil-litter stratum and, on the other, by spatial-temporal segregation and dense packing of ecological niches, decreasing competition.

EarthwormDrawida(Moniligastridae) Molecular phylogeny and diversity in Far East Russia and Northeast China

“…And besides, in the region of our research, unlike more southern habitats, Drawida are presented as anecic and epigeic life-forms (Ganin 2013). These life-forms are considered as earthworms that are ecologically replacing each other owing to substantial differences in extreme dampness conditions (Lee 1985;Ganin & Striganova 2012).…”