On the influence of nests of gray herons on features of layers and soils in pine ecosystems of the Moscow region

Abstract

Th e features of soils and litters, formed in pine ecosystems of the Moscow region, within the nesting grounds of
gray herons, have been established. It is shown that, in densely located herons’ nesting sites, in comparison with
the control plots, the total trophicity of ecosystems sharply increases, which is manifested in a wide distribution of
species characterized by high demands on the nutrient regime of soils. Th is is confi rmed by the increased content
of water-soluble forms of phosphorus, nitrates, sulfates, potassium, magnesium and calcium in the soils within the
nests of gray herons. On the contrary, the soils in the control plots are characterized by the usual content of the
main components characteristic of the soils of the zone of coniferous-deciduous forests. Taking into account the low
mobility of phosphorus and its probable fi xation in the composition of immobile complexes, it has been suggested
that the increased content of this element in soils under the conditions of the spread of soddy-podzolic soils, if the
role of anthropogenesis is excluded, may serve as an indicator of the former infl uence of ornithogenic ecosystems.