Soil biota of a pine stand in the boreal zone of Eastern Fennoscandia

Abstract

Features of the soil biota of Eastern Fennoscandia are revealed. Microorganisms numbers in the key ecological and trophic groups were determined in the upper organic horizon, and in the podzolic horizon of a cowberry-type pine stand, taking into account the plant microgroups of the living ground cover. Collembolan numbers were quantified based on dominant species densities. Carbon quantities in microbial biomass were directly measured. The rate of CO2 emissions from soil surface was quantified, and the leading factors influencing soil respiration in middle-taiga forest ecosystems were identified. The resultant experimental data can be used to create a database on the microbial pool of various soils and ecosystems, which would be useful in predictive simulations, including for different ecological scenarios.