Communities of Collembola in the Forests of Southern Primorye as a Benchmark of High Diversity and Organization Complexity

Abstract

The diversity parameters of Collembola communities in the ancient broad-leaf–cedar pine forests of Southern Primorye and in relatively young postglacial forests of the Russian Plain were compared. In Ussuriiskii and Kedrovaya Pad’ nature reserves, the species richness of the springtail communities was extremely high, up to >60 species per 1 m² of forest litter, which is two to four times higher than in the forests of the Russian Plain. The ecological niches of species are densely packed: up to six congeneric species per several cm² can coexist. By numbers, species with amphimictic reproduction predominate. Most species are characterized by relatively narrow distribution areas. In contrast, in the forests of the Russian Plain, widespread parthenogenetic species are most numerous and superdominance occurs frequently, while only a few congeneric species co-occur in the same microhabitat. Features of the communities having passed through extensive historical development are discussed; these communities can be considered as benchmarks of high diversity and complexity of the collembolan communities in forests of the temperate belt.