Effects of metal contamination on the activity and diversity of springtails in an ancient Pb-Zn mining area at Plombières, Belgium

Springtails were sampled monthly with pitfall traps in the ancient Pb-Zn mining area of Plombières for one year. Based on the total soil concentrations of lead, zinc, cadmium and copper, it was expected that zinc would probably have the most adverse effects on the populations. Activity and species richness of springtails were negatively related to the total zinc concentration in the soil, the water-soluble and the calcium chloride extracted zinc fractions. However, these relationships were only significant for the calcium chloride extracted fraction. The latter fraction might therefore be a good indicator of bioavailable zinc for springtails. Despite the high total soil concentrations of zinc, springtails were still quite abundant at all sampling sites. This is probably caused by the low bioavailability of zinc to the springtails in the soils of the study sites.