Collembolan assemblages of polar deserts and subarctic nival communities

Abstract

Summary Collembolan assemblages were studied in two different regions of the Arctic, on the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago and upon the Putorana plateau (Southern Taimyr). The comparison of assemblages, developed in similar plant associations of the polar desert zone and of nival belt of Subarctic mountains, revealed that there are no common features in their species composition even though their structures were similar. This fact could be considered as an additional argument of the biota uniqueness of the polar desert.