Soil free-living nematodes as indicators of both industrial pollution and livestock activity in Central Asia

The widely used ecological indices applied in the present research were sensitive to environmental disturbances caused by industrial pollution as well as livestock activity. The Wasilewska index, nematode channel ratio, and maturity index were mostly affected by trace metal concentration, while the diversity indices and species richness were mostly affected by soil property changes. The nematode channel ratio indicated that the bacterial-based decomposition process was dominant in soils exposed to both strong industrial pollution and livestock activity. The diversity indices indicated the disappearance of rare species in the industrial area and an increase of the contribution of common nematodes with increasing depth and distance from the unfavorable area. The current study confirmed that the grazing in accompaniment to industrial pollution, intensify a negative effect on soil nematode communities.