The Influence on Soil Development of the Invertebrate Fauna Colonizing Industrial Reclamation Sites

Abstract

(1) An experiment was conducted to assess the relative contribution of different fractions of the soil fauna to degradation of leaf litter on four recently reclaimed coal pit-heap sites in Northumberland, England. The sites were at different stages of reclamation when the experiment commenced. (2) Leaves of oak (Quercus robur L.) were confined in nylon bags of three different mesh sizes, and buried on the sites from July 1972 until February 1973. Similar bags were also buried on a 'control' area of pasture nearby. (3) Results show that breakdown of litter occurred on all four reclamation sites, but at a slower rate than on the control site. In the absence of earthworms (and most large saprophagous arthropods), the rate of breakdown on the reclamation sites was similar in medium and coarse mesh bags, and was attributed mainly to the Collembola (particularly Isotomidae) rather than Acari. (4) Despite the extreme conditions existing on reclamation sites, microarthropods can colonize the soil rapidly. Initially, Collembola are important forlitter degradation and hence in humus and soil profile formation.