SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS OF SOIL FAUNAIN THE NORTHERN TAIGA PINE FORESTS (THE KOMI REPUBLIC)
Spatial heterogeneity is one of the most typical features of soil biota. However, the reasons for this phenomenon are still not fully understood. Modern methodologies, operating with space-dependent data, are to a certain extent able to reveal the factors determining the heterogeneity of soil fauna distribution in the soil, taking into account not only linear but also non-linear connections. Therefore, our aim was to identify the relation between the spatial distribution of soil invertebrates and environmental factors in various types of pine forests of the northern taiga of the Komi Republic. The research has shown that spatial distribution of soil invertebrates in pine forests is of aggregated type, which at the landscape level is largely determined by soil humidity and at the biocenotic one - by the temperature, acidity and thickness of the ground litter. Reactions of certain groups of soil fauna in many cases differ significantly. Spatial interconnection of such groups as nematodes, springtails and Diptera larvae indicates a certain role of biotic interactions in the distribution of soil animals.