Abstract
The aim of this work was to investigate the species diversity of diatoms growing on fallow fields on loose sand. The study site was located in the western part of Pogórska Wola near Tarnów (southern Poland). Samples were collected from fallow land once a month from April to December 2011. 57 diatom taxa from 19 different genera were found. The most numerous genera were <em>Fragilaria</em> (8) and <em>Luticola</em> (7). The highest species richness was observed in December, November and July, while the highest values of species diversity (Shannon–Wiener index) were recorded between August and October. Four taxa – <em>Pinnularia borealis</em> Ehrenb. var. <em>borealis</em>, <em>Stauroneis borrichii</em> (Petersen) Lund, <em>Hantzschia amphioxys</em> (Ehrenb.) Grunow, and <em>Luticola nivalis</em> (Ehrenb.) D.G. Mann, were found to be the dominant species. Neutral species (a pH of about 7) dominated in all months (from April to December), reaching an over 90% share in the assemblage. In terms of nitrogen content, nitrogen-autotrophic taxa, tolerating an elevated concentration of organically bound nitrogen, occurred most abundantly, as was indicated by the low content of nitrogen in the soil.
Highlights
Over recent years, soil algae have been the object of many ecological, physiological and biochemical studies
The study sites were located in the western part of Pogórska Wola, on a small flat hill where the bedrock consists of loose sand
The granulometric composition analysis showed that the studied soil can be classified as loose sand (65% of sand, 24% of silt, 1% of clay)
Summary
Soil algae have been the object of many ecological, physiological and biochemical studies. They play a significant role in the colonization of low productive soils, which results from volcanic activity, retreating of glaciers, fires, or mining activity. The biomass of photoautotrophic soil algae is a source of humus and nitrogen. Sunlight penetrates only a few millimeters into the soil and soil algae are exposed to high sunlight as well as some deficits. They live in varying temperatures (from extremely high to extremely low), so they can colonize deserts in both tropical and Antarctic
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