This paper analyzed seasonal dynamics of mite (Acari) aggregations, with particular attention to oribatid mites (Oribatida), in two different substrates intended for soil regeneration - shredded forest litter from Scots pine forest and pine wood chips. The study was conducted in the years 2011-2012, on microplots established within a belt of trees in a nursery in Białe Błota (Bydgoszcz Forest District). To maintain optimum moisture content, the microplots were hydrated by micro sprinklers as per the guidelines and schedule for the irrigation of nurseries, and mean soil moisture was kept at the level of 5.1-9.9 %. The mites were classified into orders and oribatid mites into species or genera, with regard to juvenile stages. A total of 4,142 mites were determined, including 2,939 oribatid mites.Mite density in the shredded forest litter, intended mainly for soil inoculation with edaphon, was similar in the initial and final period of the study. Mite density in the pine wood chips, intended for mulching degraded soils and providing optimal conditions for mesofauna development, increased over two years of the study. Oribatid mites were the most abundant mites in the analyzed samples. Mean number of their species s in the forest litter was comparable at the ...
This study examined the effect of fertilisation with compost prepared from hygienised sludge with an addition of pine-tree bark and mulching with fresh forest ectohumus on selected growth parameters in two- and three-year seedlings of common beech and the occurrence of mites (Acari) in soil. The experiment was carried out in 2009-2010 in the Białe Błota forest nursery (Bydgoszcz Forest District) on proper rusty soil. The entire area of the experiment was irrigated with a stationary sprinkler. The beech seedlings on the plots where compost had been used as fertiliser were significantly taller than those growing on the plots where mineral fertilisers had been applied. Mulching increased the height of the seedlings significantly only in the last, third year of the study. The tallest three-year-old seedlings were found on the plots in which both of the tested procedures had been carried out. Neither of the factors under study had a significant effect on the diameter of the root neck in the second year of the nursery cultivation, but they increased it significantly in the third year. Fertilisation with compost with an addition of pine-tree bark increased the number of leaves per plant and the leaf area in two- and three-year-old ...
