Collembola Communities (Hexapoda, Collembola) of Coniferous Forests in the Zone of Influence of Pulp and Paper Industry

The paper presents the results of long-term studies of the collembolan communities along the gradient of the pollution of pine and spruce forests (middle taiga) in the zone of influence of pulp and paper production (Mondi Syktyvkar JSC, Komi Republic). The major pollutants include oxides of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, hydrogen sulfide, and mineral dust. The study was conducted during the period when the emissions amounted to 20 000−30 000 tons (2003 and 2007–2009) and after the pollution level was reduced by 50% or more, to 10 000 tons, 10−15 years later (2018–2019). It was shown that the species richness of springtails significantly increased in the zones of strong and moderate exposure of coniferous forests after the emissions were decreased, but their abundance declined in all zones due to weather conditions. In pine forests, euedaphic species became dominant in the background plots, in particular, while the proportions of hemiedaphic and epiedaphic species increased in the zone of strong impact. At the same time, the spectrum of life forms and biotopic groups and the structure of the springtail population did not undergo significant alterations over the course of 10 years. Conversely, pronounced differences were recorded over the years of research in these parameters in spruce forests. They manifested as a change of the dominant species and their corresponding life forms and biotopic groups. The observed changes in the communities of springtails in spruce forests appear to be determined by changes in the ground cover. Significant improvement is generally observed in the state of the collembolan community of spruce forests in the zones of strong and medium impact from 2003 to 2019.