Abstract
We present a review of the literature data and the results of our own studies on the influence of soil invertebrates of the macrofauna size class on the processes of creating and maintaining the heterogeneity of soil properties in the temperate zone. Significant changes in physical, chemical, and biological parameters of soils compared with background indicators, were noted in excrement and associated soil aggregates, as well as substrates—products of the vital activity of key groups of large invertebrates, such as earthworms, diplopod millipedes, diptera and coleoptera larvae, woodlice, and ants. Most of the research is related to the impact of earthworms and ants on soils, whereas for other groups few reports exist. The results of the research will be useful for practical purposes, in particular for the development of sustainable anthropogenic ecosystems.
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Funding
This work was funded by state order no. 121040800147-0 of the Laboratory of Cartography and Soil Diagnostics of the Department of Soil Sciences of Moscow State University “Soil Information Systems and Optimization of Management of Soil Resources.”
We thank the Interdisciplinary Scientific–Educational School of Moscow State University “The Earth’s Future and Global Changes in the Environment” for support of this publication.
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Translated by M. Bibov
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Rakhleeva, A.A. The Role of Zoogenic Structures of Large Soil Invertebrates in Creating and Maintaining Heterogeneity of Soil Properties (Review). Moscow Univ. Soil Sci. Bull. 77, 137–141 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3103/S0147687422030103
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3103/S0147687422030103