Mesofauna in soils of the ivolga depression (Western Transbaikal region)

Mesofauna of chestnut, meadow-chestnut, meadow alluvial, clayey mucky-gley swampy alluvial soils, and hydromorphic solonchaks has been studied within the Ivolga depression. Variations in the population density of soil invertebrates (from 29.9 to 284.3 specimens per m²) are controlled by the particular soil ecological conditions. Dominant mesofauna species are morphologically and physiologically adapted for living near the soil surface. About 85–90% of them are allocated to the uppermost 10-cm-thick soil layer. The hydrothermic regime (r = 0.94) and the low bioproductivity of phytocenoses (r = 0.74) are the major factors limiting the mesofauna functioning in soils of the Ivolga depression. The biocenotic similarity of the invertebrate complexes in the chestnut, meadow-chestnut, and solonchak soils and in the alluvial swampy and meadow soils is revealed. The highest diversity of the ecological groups of soil mesofauna is seen in the clayey mucky-gley swampy alluvial soils.