Author(s)

Vladimir N. Pereverzev, Galina A. Evdokimova, Irina V. Zenkova, Maria V. Korneykova, Vera V. Redkina

.

A primary soil-forming process can take place on the concentration waste of apatite-nepheline ores, whose biological recultivation was carried out more than 40 years ago. This process is characterized by the following features: forming of a thin litter with the content of organic carbon at the level of 8-12%, accumulation of humic substances in the sub-litter layer and the change of рН values. Microorganisms are biocatalysts of primary soil formation processes and one of the main factors that determine the specificity of this process. The prokaryotic complex of the newly formed soils, generated from nepheline sands, is considerably different from that of zonal soils on moraine sediments. The former ones are dominated by gram-positive bacteria, mainly actinobacteria, as well as by their filamentous forms (actinomycetes), whereas the latter ones are dominated by gram-negative bacteria. A common feature of invertebrate’s complexes in nepheline sands is the low species diversity, small-size and quickly development of microfauna and mesofauna representatives and the dependence of succession of microarthropods pioneer groups on the succession of bacteria and fungi.

Soil-Forming Process; Nepheline Sands; Organic Matter; Soil Biota

Pereverzev, V. , Evdokimova, G. , Zenkova, I. , Korneykova, M. and Redkina, V. (2010) Evolution of technogenic landscapes by the example of apatite-nepheline ore concentration wastes. Natural Science, 2, 600-611. doi: 10.4236/ns.2010.26075.