Early colonization of constructed technosol by microarthropods

Abstract

Technosols are defined by the World Reference Base as soils subjected to a strong human influence and containing at least 20% of artefacts. The construction of Technosol using recycled waste material is considered an appealing sustainable use of both natural and anthropic resources. Constructed Technosol can attract and host a multitude of soil organisms, forming a reserve of biodiversity. In this study, we assessed the early colonization – in successional stages – of a constructed Technosol supporting grassland vegetation by the microarthropod community, in particular Collembola. To do this, the taxonomic and functional characteristics of microarthropod communities in a newly constructed Technosol in northeast France were studied for a period of four years. Collembola communities also increased in density and taxonomic richness, as well as in functional richness and dispersion. However, hemiedaphic Collembola dominated the community, particularly in the fourth year. Findings at the end of the survey indicated that the Collembola community in the studied Technosol remained very different to that of natural grassland, while it shared some characteristics with arable land. However, the present research clearly showed that waste material recycling to construct a Technosol could be an opportunity to support soil microarthropod biodiversity.