[Effects of the Vital Activity of Soil Insect Larvae on Microbial Processes in the Soil].

The effects of Elateridae larvae (wireworms) on the structure, functional diversity, and tolerance of the soil microbial population in steppe ecosystems have been investigated. The trophic and locomotor activity of wireworms leads to an appreciable increase in bacterial abundance and suppression of fungal activity. The fungal hyphae in the presence of wireworms are significantly damaged, which can be related to the feeding activity of Elateridae. The increase of bacterial abundance on the background of exclusion of the fungal component shifts the microbial succession to the acceleration of organic matter mineralization. The microbial consumption of mono- and oligosaccharides, alcohols, and water-soluble compounds increases in the presence of wireworms (multisubstrate test). The effect of Elateridae larvae on the microorganisms transforming nitrogen compounds is species-specific. Agriotes obscurus activity decreases their consumption of urea and creatinine by 2.1-2.5 times, and Selatosomus aeneus increases it by 1.3 and 2.5 times, respectively. The intensity of actual nitrogen fixation in the soil increases in the presence of wireworms by almost 4 times, but the losses of gaseous nitrogen do not increase because of the decrease in both the denitrification and methanogenesis rates