Ground Beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) and Zoodiagnostics of Ecological Succession on Technogenic Catenas of Brown Coal Dumps in the KAFEC Area (Krasnoyarsk Krai)

The population of ground beetles on artificial catenas of dumps of brown-coal pits in Krasnoyarsk krai (dump age of one month, seven years, and 25 years) was investigated. The material was collected in the eluvial, transitional, and accumulative positions of each catena. The species diversity and activity of ground beetles after 25 years of succession in all catena positions do not reach the state of natural communities. The rate and direction of succession of the ground beetle taxocenes differed significantly depending on their relief position. The appearance of species typical of zonal forest–steppe ecosystems began after seven years of succession. In the accumulative position, succession developed more slowly than in the eluvial and transitional positions, where ruderal carabid species were gradually replaced by meadow mesophilous, and then by mesoxerophilous species. After 25 years, the taxocene of ground beetles in the accumulative position became similar not to the herb, but to the wood communities of the forest–steppe.