Assessment of the state of soil microbial cenoses in the forest-tundra zone under conditions of airborne industrial pollution

The quantitative and functional responses of soil microbial cenoses in the forest-tundra zone to pollution have been studied in the area exposed to emissions from the Norilsk Mining and Metallurgical Works. The strongest structural and functional disturbances of the soil biota have been recorded on the plots with completely destroyed vegetation. A decrease in the content of microbial carbon and an elevated respiration rate in the technogenically transformed soils provide evidence for the functioning of the microbial communities under stress caused by the continuous input of aggressive pollutants. The degree of transformation and the contents of technogenic elements (Ni, Cu, Co, Pb, and S) in the organic horizons of the forest-tundra soils are the major factors affecting the development and functioning of the soil microbial cenoses.