The condition of the mesopedobiont community in Moscow forest parks as an indicator of the recreational load and the formation of impact zones along footpaths

In large Moscow forest parks the characteristics of the mesopedobionts of the natural forests are preserved in the territories that do not undergo direct human impacts. Under the influence of the recreational load the abundance, biomass, and diversity of the soil invertebrates is decreased over distances of 50–100 cm and more from footpaths and the rate of their development defines the level of changes and width of the impact zone. As compared to the properties of the soils, the mesopedobionts are a more sensitive and informative indicator of recreation; when monitoring the effects of this impact the diagnostics of the mesofauna diversity are informative.