Secondary succession of nematodes in power plant ash dumps reclaimed by covering with turf

An analysis of successive changes in nematode assemblages in reclaimed waste area offers information about the sensitivity of species or groups of nematodes to specific conditions and ability to colonise new habitats. The study was carried in ash dumps being a by-product of the combustion of hard coal and reclaimed by covering with mineral turf (light loam warp soil) or organic turf (alder peat). In the first 3 years of reclamation diversity of nematodes was low, especially in the dump covered with mineral turf—Shannon diversity index below 3. Later on the value of Shannon index increased and did not differ from those recorded for meadows in Poland. In the ash dump reclaimed for a longer time period (8–11 years) the contribution of K strategist species was higher than in the dumps reclaimed for a shorter time period (2–5 years). At the earlier stages of succession bacterivores Acrobeloides, and two fungivores Aphelenchoides and Aphelenchus, predominated. In the ash dump reclaimed longer the dominance of these three genera decreased and some plant feeders achieved high contribution (> 30%). The composition of nematode communities depended significantly on the period of reclamation, but did not depend either on the soil moisture and pH or on season.