Konstantin Gongalsky

• PhD
• Researcher at Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution

Local drivers of decline matter Recent studies have reported alarming declines in insect populations, but questions persist about the breadth and pattern of such declines. van Klink et al. compiled data from 166 long-term surveys across 1676 globally distributed sites and confirmed declines in terrestrial insects, albeit at lower rates than some ot...

The first list of terrestrial enchytraeids of Uzbekistan is provided, which includes 8 species belonging to 4 genera. A new enchytraeid species in the genus Fridericia Michaelsen, 1889, Fridericia korobushkini sp. nov., is described. It clearly differs from other species of the genus by max. 5 chaetae per bundle, presence of a subneural gland in XI...

Background Enchytraeids, commonly known as potworms, are small oligochaetes found worldwide in various terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Despite their crucial role in ecosystem functioning, the diversity and abundance of Enchytraeidae are seldom studied due to the labour-intensive process of species identification. This study aims to a...

From 2001 to 2022, the woodlice fauna of Abrau Peninsula, north-west Caucasus, Russia was examined. The collections yielded 5,581 specimens, which belong to 25 species, 19 genera, and 15 families. The most diverse families are Cylisticidae, Platyarthridae, Trachelipodidae, and Trichoniscidae, each with three species. The most diverse genera are Pla...

The recently described terrestrial isopod Desertoniscus schmalfussi Kashani et Allspach, 2012, found in the collection of the Senckenberg Museum (Frankfurt, Germany), did not have an exact indication of its type locality, as the description only cites the 100-year-old label with the name of a village in Southern Turkestan. Due to the fact that the...

Increasing extreme climatic events threaten the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems1,2. Because soil microbes govern key biogeochemical processes, understanding their response to climate extremes is crucial in predicting the consequences for ecosystem functioning3,4. Here we subjected soils from 30 grasslands across Europe to four contrasting ext...

The objective of this research is to address saiga conservation challenges amid significant anthropogenic pressures through a population model-based approach. The study involved an analysis of herd composition in terms of sex, age, and size over the years 2019-2022, with a focus on lamb weight measurements in 2022. Notably, 2021 witnessed a substan...

The article provides an analysis of the validity of 4 woodlice species from the Caucasus, named by A.N. Korchagin in 1888. According to the requirements of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, the following species are considered invalid: Armadillidium studiosorum Korčagin, 1888 nomen nudum, Armadillidium niger Korčagin, 1888 nomen nu...

Enchytraeids are key organisms in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, but despite this, the fauna and population of enchytraeids of the European part of Russia (ER) have been studied rather poorly. Based on our own collections from 193 sites across the main biomes of the ER from 2019 to 2023, 74 species of enchytraeids belonging to 15 genera...

Enchytraeids, also known as pot worms, represent one of the least studied groups of soil mesofauna. These organisms can be found throughout the globe from coasts to deserts reaching high densities and biomass, but their specific roles within the soil food web remain a stark knowledge gap. Enchytraeid species are involved in belowground trophic inte...

Enchytraeids, or potworms, are tiny oligochaetes that are distributed worldwide in many terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Despite their key role in the functioning of ecosystems, the diversity and abundance of Enchytraeidae are rarely studied due to the laborious process of species identification. The present study addresses this gap a...

Studies have reported widespread declines in terrestrial insect abundances in recent years1–4, but trends in other biodiversity metrics are less clear-cut5–7. Here we examined long-term trends in 923 terrestrial insect assemblages monitored in 106 studies, and found concomitant declines in abundance and species richness. For studies that were resol...

'Hidden hunger' occurs in humans and livestock and stems from deficiencies in microelements, essential amino acids, and vitamins. Triggered by insufficient intake of micronutrients in food and feed, even when macronutrients are abundant, hidden hunger can result in the development of serious diseases and pathological conditions. Finding sufficient...

This poster, designed by Pierre Ganault, presetend the sOilFauna project to the SFE²-GfÖ-EEF conference in Metz on November 2022. The poster is largely inspired by the publication by Mathieu et al., 2022 Soil Organisms 10.25674/so94iss2id282

Disturbances alter biodiversity via their specific characteristics, including severity and extent in the landscape, which act at different temporal and spatial scales. Biodiversity response to disturbance also depends on the community characteristics and habitat requirements of species. Untangling the mechanistic interplay of these factors has guid...

Understanding global biodiversity change, its drivers, and the ecosystem consequences requires a better appreciation of both the factors that shape soil macrofauna communities and the ecosystem effects of these organisms. The project "sOilFauna" was funded by the synthesis center sDiv (Germany) to address this major gap by forming a community of so...

Here we introduce the Soil BON Foodweb Team, a cross-continental collaborative network that aims to monitor soil animal communities and food webs using consistent methodology at a global scale. Soil animals support vital soil processes via soil structure modification, consumption of dead organic matter, and interactions with microbial and plant com...

Changes in the abundances of animals, such as with the ongoing concern about insect declines, are often assumed to be general across taxa. However, this assumption is largely untested. Here, we used a database of assemblage-wide long-term insect and arachnid monitoring to compare abundance trends among co-occurring pairs of taxa. We show that 60% o...

The first ever list of terrestrial enchytraeids of Eastern Dagestan includes 12 species belonging to five genera. Several species from studied localities may be assigned as undescribed, therefore additional comprehensive research of enchytraeid fauna from Eastern Dagestan is required. A new enchytraeid species of the genus Fridericia Michaelsen, 18...

Soil organisms drive major ecosystem functions by mineralising carbon and releasing nutrients during decomposition processes, which supports plant growth, aboveground biodiversity and, ultimately, human nutrition. Soil ecologists often operate with functional groups to infer the effects of individual taxa on ecosystem functions and services. Simult...

Here we introduce the Soil BON Foodweb Team, a cross-continental collaborative network that aims to monitor soil animal communities and food webs using consistent methodology at a global scale. Soil animals support vital soil processes via soil structure modification, direct consumption of dead organic matter, and interactions with microbial and pl...

In recent decades, various isotopic methods have been widely used to study trophic relationships in soil ecosystems, because the isotopic signature of heterotrophic organisms reflects the isotopic composition of their preferred food objects. The composition of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes of biological objects is most often used in su...

Soil fauna is one of the most important promising resources for humanity; its reserves are in any ecosystem. Soil saprophages contain concentrations of amino acids, vitamins, and microelements that are comparable to industrially produced bio-additives.

Dagestan is one of the least studied areas in the south of European part of Russia in terms of terrestrial isopods. The fauna of woodlice of Sarykum cluster of Dagestan Nature Reserve was studied in 2019. In total 6 species belonging to 4 families were collected. The fauna of woodlice of the studied cluster is similar to that of Azerbaijan and Kalm...

Global climate warming disproportionately affects high-latitude and mountainous terrestrial ecosystems. Warming is accompanied by permafrost thaw, shorter winters, earlier snowmelt, more intense soil freeze-thaw cycles, drier summers, and longer fire seasons. These environmental changes in turn impact surface water and groundwater flow regimes, wat...

Global climate warming disproportionately affects high-latitude and mountainous terrestrial ecosystems. Warming is accompanied by permafrost thaw, shorter winters, earlier snowmelt, more intense soil freeze-thaw cycles, drier summers, and longer fire seasons. These environmental changes in turn impact surface water and groundwater flow regimes, wat...

Two new species of woodlice, Protracheoniscus halophilus sp.n, and Protracheoniscus spiridonovi sp.n. are described from Astrakhan Region and the Republic of Kalmykia, NE Pre-Caspian region, Russia. Diagnostic features of these species as well as affinities within the genus are provided and discussed

Different species of amphibians often breed in the same water bodies and their diets overlap. Theoretically, this might lead to a competitive elimination of either one but there are multispecies temporal larval communities persisting over the years. We hypothesized that larvae of two common European anuran species segregate their trophic niches des...

Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provid...

Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provid...

Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provid...

Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provid...

Insects are the most ubiquitous and diverse group of eukaryotic organisms on Earth, forming a crucial link in terrestrial and freshwater food webs. They have recently become the subject of headlines because of observations of dramatic declines in some places. Although there are hundreds of long‐term insect monitoring programs, a global database for...

The soil macrofauna, including animals between 1–2 mm and 20–30 mm in size, uses soil differently from the mesofauna, which lives in cavities, or microfauna that inhabits water films. In some ecosystems, the macrofauna accounts for most of the total soil animal biomass and substantially contributes to soil food-web functioning. Additionally, the ma...

A new species of the family Agnaridae, Lucasioides altaicus sp. nov., is described from the Altai Mountains, southwestern Siberia, based both on morphological characters and molecular data. This species is the first record of Lucasioides from Russia, whose location is the northernmost habitat of terrestrial isopods in indigenous habitats presently...

Woodlice were not recorded in the fauna of undisturbed terrestrial ecosystems of the Russian Far East. Initially, in this region, three species of this group lived only on the littoral and were well studied by marine biologists. In the 20th century, separate records of woodlice began to appear in terrestrial ecosystems, and in recent years, the num...

Jähnig et al. make some useful points regarding the conclusions that can be drawn from our meta‐analysis; however, some issues require clarification. First, we never suggested that there was a globally increasing trend of freshwater insect abundances, but only spoke of an average increasing trend in the available data. We also did not suggest that...

Desquilbet al. take issue with our data inclusion criteria and make several other dubious claims regarding data processing, analysis, and interpretation. Most of their concerns stem from disagreement on data inclusion criteria and analysis, misunderstanding of our goals, and unrealistic expectations. We maintain that our synthesis provides a state-...

We tested for fire‐induced (5–6 years post‐fire) changes in the structure and functioning of the soil food web along a 3000‐km north–south transect across European Russia, spanning all major forest types in the northern hemisphere outside the tropics. The total biomass of the detrital food web, including microbes and invertebrates, was not affected...

A list of terrestrial enchytraeids of the Russian Far East is compiled based on literature and extensive field data collected by the authors in 2019. A database has been created consisting of geographic coordinates, habitat type, species, and data source. For some species collected by the authors, barcoding using COI, 16s, and 12s rRNA genes has be...

Burning is the most common practice for rice straw disposal. Due to associated negative environmental and climatic effects, development of viable alternatives, preferably based on the natural functions of soil biota are needed. In the conditions of non-tropical rice-growing systems, where periods of flooding are very short, such an approach seems t...

Burning is the most common practice for rice straw disposal. Due to associated negative environmental and climatic effects, development of viable alternatives, preferably based on the natural functions of soil biota are needed. In the conditions of non-tropical rice-growing systems, where periods of flooding are very short, such an approach seems t...

this knowledge gap, we measured such parameters of soil biological activity as flux rates of CH4, and CO2 and identified key environmental parameters that can influence soil biological activity. Soil samples were collected in burned and adjacent unburned control forests, along a 3000 km-long north-south transect in European Russia. A raw biological...

Cover photo

Soil organisms, including earthworms, are a key component of terrestrial ecosystems. However, little is known about their diversity, their distribution, and the threats affecting them. We compiled a global dataset of sampled earthworm communities from 6928 sites in 57 countries as a basis for predicting patterns in earthworm diversity, abundance, a...

Soil organisms, including earthworms, are a key component of terrestrial ecosystems. However, little is known about their diversity, their distribution, and the threats affecting them. We compiled a global dataset of sampled earthworm communities from 6928 sites in 57 countries as a basis for predicting patterns in earthworm diversity, abundance, a...

This PDF file includes: Materials and Methods Supplementary Text Figs. S1 to S6 Tables S1 to S4 References

Soil organisms, including earthworms, are a key component of terrestrial ecosystems. However, little is known about their diversity, their distribution, and the threats affecting them. We compiled a global dataset of sampled earthworm communities from 6928 sites in 57 countries as a basis for predicting patterns in earthworm diversity, abundance, a...

Soil organisms, including earthworms, are a key component of terrestrial ecosystems. However, little is known about their diversity, their distribution, and the threats affecting them. We compiled a global dataset of sampled earthworm communities from 6928 sites in 57 countries as a basis for predicting patterns in earthworm diversity, abundance, a...

This PDF file includes: Materials and Methods Supplementary Text Figs. S1 to S6 Tables S1 to S4 References

This PDF file includes: Materials and Methods Supplementary Text Figs. S1 to S6 Tables S1 to S4 References

This PDF file includes: Materials and Methods Supplementary Text Figs. S1 to S6 Tables S1 to S4 References

This PDF file includes: Materials and Methods Supplementary Text Figs. S1 to S6 Tables S1 to S4 References

Rice growing in Russia has some peculiarities, e.g., cultivation of a single crop per year and application of multiannual crop rotation cycles. Phytoparasitic nematodes have been previously found on rice crops in Russia: Aphelenchoides besseyi, as well as Hirschmanniella sp., Longidorus sp., Paratylenchus spp., Paraphelenchus, Aphelenchus, Aphelenc...

Communities of soil animals (meso-and macrofauna) in rice paddies tend to be fragmented, and have extremely low abundance. Nevertheless, some groups, such as enchytraeids, may become dominant in flooded conditions, as shown in tropical rice agroecosystems. However, the fauna and functional composition of enchytraeids (Annelida, Clitellata, Enchytra...

Rice growing requires highly destructive and highly invasive field management negatively affecting soil biota and its functions. We aimed to compare taxonomic and functional trait compositions of soil macrofauna at different stages of rice cropping cycles in the three temperate rice-growing regions in Russia. Samples were collected in 2016 at four...

We compared soil nematode abundance, genus richness and feeding groups composition between four different biotope types (flooded rice paddies, upland crops planted one year after flooded rice, rice paddy bunds, and seminatural control grasslands) in temperate rice-growing systems in Russia. Our survey covered three major rice producing regions: Krasno...

Soil organisms provide crucial ecosystem services that support human life. However, little is known about their diversity, distribution, and the threats affecting them. Here, we compiled a global dataset of sampled earthworm communities from over 7000 sites in 56 countries to predict patterns in earthworm diversity, abundance, and biomass. We ident...

Two new species of pseudoscorpions, Ephippiochthonius sarmaticus sp.n. and Ephippiochthonius oryzis sp.n. are described from the Krasnodar Region, Russia. These are first valid records for this genus in Russia. Diagnostic features of these species as well as comparison with similar species within the genus are provided and discussed.

A new species of woodlice, Protracheoniscus pokarzhevskii Gongalsky & Turbanov, sp.n. is described from Kalmykia, NE Pre-Caspian region, Russia. Protracheoniscus kryszanovskii Borutzky, 1957 from the same area is also redescribed. Diagnostic features of these species as well as affinities within the genus are provided and discussed.

We performed a mesocosm experiment with rice paddy soils of three different soil types which were collected in the three major regions of rice production in Russia: Krasnodarsky Krai, the Republic of Kalmykia and Primorsky Krai. We used the earthworm species Eisenia fetida (Savigny 1826), introduced at different densities (0, 2, 4 and 6 individuals...

We investigated fauna and community composition of springtails in the burnt and unburnt boreal forests of European Russia. We also analyzed ecoregional differences in the effect of fire disturbance on collembolan community faunistic similarity on an example of three different ecoregions of the boreal forest biome in the study territory. We collecte...

New records of woodlice from anthropogenic and semi-natural habitats of the south of W Siberia replenish the list by three more synanthropic species, and now it comprises at least 7 species from six genera and five families. The genus Protracheoniscus Verhoeff, 1917 and the species P. major (Dollfus, 1903) are reported from the Asian part of Russia...

Disturbances such as forest fires, industrial pollution, etc. are almost always heterogeneous, leaving less disturbed patches within the boundaries of disturbances. In addition to the traditionally considered source of soil invertebrates’ restoration by immigration from the surrounding unchanged biotopes, the role of locally undisturbed areas withi...

A new woodlouse species, Desertoniscus zaitsevi sp. nov., is described from Kalmykia, Cis-Caspian region of Russia. The diagnostic features of the new species, as well as its affinities within the genus are provided and discussed. The new species is the northwesternmost in Eurasia, expanding the known distribution of this genus into Europe.

Functionality of soil food webs after forest fires remains generally unexplored. We address this question by studying both burnt and unburnt spruce forests in Central European Russia (Tver Region). In August 2014 we sampled two spatially distant blocks consisting of forest areas burnt in 2010 and the respective unburnt controls. We analyzed biomass...

We assessed the impact of forest fires on macrofauna taxonomic richness, abundance and total biomass in 20 forests burnt five years ago and 20 respective control plots along a 3000-km-long north-south transect in European Russia that covered five major forest types (Mediterranean and broadleaved forests , southern, middle, and northern taiga). In p...

Fires change physical, chemical and biotic conditions of forest ecosystems. They also strongly affect soil macrofauna including key soil ecosystem engineers and regulators of soil-related processes in forest soils. However, due to a wide range of traits attributable to macroinvertebrates, the effect of forest burning on the macrofauna can be quite...

A new species of woodlice, Trachelipus utrishensis sp.n. (Trachelipodidae), is described from the Utrish State Nature Reserve located on the Black Sea coast of the northwestern Caucasus, east of Novorossiysk. Diagnostic features of the new species as well as affinities within the genus Trachelipus Budde-Lund, 1908 are provided and discussed.

Identifying earthworms (Oligochaeta, Megadrili) of the Southern Kuril Islands using DNA barcodes. The Kuril Islands are a volcanic archipelago located between Hokkaido and Kamchatka. In this study we investigated earthworm fauna of three of the Southern Kuril Islands, Kunashir, Shikotan, and Yuri, using both morphological analysis and DNA barcoding...

Forest fires are almost always heterogeneous, leaving less-disturbed sites that are potentially suitable as habitats for soil-dwelling creatures. The recovery of large soil animal communities after fires is therefore dependent on the spatial structure of the burned habitats. The role of locally less disturbed sites in the survival of soil macrofaun...

A new troglobiotic woodlouse, Typhloligidium lithophagumsp. n. (Ligiidae), is described from a vertical karst cave in the Crimea. The diagnostic features of the new species within the troglobiotic Crimean-Caucasian genus TyphloligidiumVerhoeff 1918, as well as its affinities are given and discussed.

Key messages • Soil is an important habitat for thousand millions of organisms. • Soil biodiversity is extremely diverse in shapes, colours, sizes and functions. • Soil biodiversity is globally distributed, from deserts to polar regions through grasslands, forests, urban and agricultural areas. • Soil biodiversity supports many services essential t...

Relations between soil biota diversity and its contribution to the performance of some ecosystem functions were assessed based on the results obtained in undisturbed and burned spruce forests near the Central Forest Nature Biosphere Reserve (Tver oblast). In August 2014, in two 4-year-old burned areas, abiotic parameters of the soils, indicators of...

The composition of stable carbon isotopes in plants, plant litter, leaf litter, and soil organic matter was studied experimentally in the western part of the northern foothills of the Caucasus and mountainsides. It was found that the changes in carbon isotope composition depending on the vertical zonation do not exceed 8‰ and depend on the type of...

Quasi-gley chernozems of the Trans-Baikal region are characterized by the clearly pronounced anisotropy of their properties related to carbon sequestration processes. The main carbon pool is concentrated in the humus horizon; the organic carbon content sharply decreases down the soil profile. The pool of organic carbon in the cryogenic fissures is...

SPE EA Pôle BIOME The Atlas is divided in 8 chapters covering all the aspects of soil biodiversity: - Chapter I: The soil habitat - Chapter II: Diversity of soil organisms - Chapter III: Geographical and temporal distribution - Chapter IV: Ecosystem functions and services - Chapter V: Threats - Chapter VI: Interventions - Chapter VII: Policy, educa...

Процесс изучения гипогейных высших ракообразных Крыма далек от своего завершения. Нашими планомерными и последовательными исследованиями, проводимыми в последние годы, с применением различных методов сбора биологического материала позволили выявить значительное количество новых ранее неизвестных трогло- и стигобионтных видов из различных систематич...

Study of the soil biota organization under the con� ditions of minimal human influence in different soil types is one of the most important tasks for both fun� damental and applied soil biology. When developing the concept of the zoological method of soil diagnos� tics, Gilyarov [6] considered the taxonomic diversity and the number of species of th...