Ground-living arthropods along pollution gradient in boreal pine forest

Abstract

We studied the occurrence of arthropods in a polluted pine forest at Harjavalta, southwestern Finland. Significantly fewer beetles (Coleoptera) were trapped near (0.5 km) a smelter and fertilizer factory than at sites further away (3, 5, 9 km). No differences in total numbers (inds./trap) along the distance (pollution) gradient were found for spiders (Araneae), ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) or bugs (Heteroptera). Marked differences were observed in diversity and species composition of the studied groups between the most polluted site (0.5 km) and the other sites (3, 5, 9 km). There were permanent arthropod populations (e.g. ants and wolf spiders) living at the most polluted site. Differences in ground-living fauna were explained by changes in ground vegetation due to pollution. The contents of Cu, Fe, Ni and Cr in ants and wolf spiders were clearly highest near the pollution source; those of Cd, Zn and Al were high at all sites.