The role of soil fauna in the diversity of vegetation on the Carboniferous waste dump

Abstract

The work analyzes the relationship between the amount of soil fauna in the diversity of vegetation on post-mining dumps. Until now, researchers have devoted a lot of attention to the development and diversity of plant communities in post-industrial areas, including heaps of gangue. The quantitative and qualitative participation of selected meso-fauna groups (Nematoda, Enchytraeidae) in the soil base of post-mining areas was much less known. Understanding these relationships can be of great practical importance in planning and implementing surveying works to restore habitats in areas created in connection with the exploitation of mineral resources. Activity of soil organisms is one of the factors conditioning plant growth and their resistance to stress. A marginally significant relationship was found between the species diversity of the patches of vegetation, measured by the value of the ShannonWiener index, and the abundance of vase vessels (rs = 0.31, p = 0.05). The percentage coverage of the dominant species, its abundance, as well as the total percentage coverage of plants and bryophytes, dry matter volume and general coverage of herbaceous plants significantly affects the number of vassels.