Urban springtail species richness decreases with increasing air pollution

Abstract

Environmental pollution impacts the structure, species richness and abundance of arthropod communities in urban environments. Detailed quantitative tests with microarthropod communities are nevertheless missing. We assessed species richness and abundances of Collembola within patches of urban green spaces in the city centre of Warsaw, Poland, to ask whether and how soil and air pollution influence springtail communities and whether these arthropods are suited as bioindicators. Springtails did not react significantly to varying environmental soil conditions, including heavy metal concentrations. Species richness was also independent of site area and isolation. However, springtails were highly sensitive to air pollution, particularly to PM10 and NO2 concentrations. In sites having NO2 air pollution above thresholds set by the European commission, species richness generally decreased. Our results indicate that springtails might not be a candidate taxon for urban soil bioindication. However, even moderate degrees of air pollution might have destructive effects on soil ecosystems.