Abstract
A. Pokhylenko*, O.A. Lykholat, O.O. Didur, Yu.L. Kulbachko and T.Yu. Lykholat
Diplopoda play an important role in the processes of creating and maintaining soil fertility by implementing leaf litter destruction at its initial stages. Recently, in Ukraine the problem of soil fertility restoration has acquired a great urgency due to climate changes (aridity and temperature rising) and constantly increasing anthropogenic impact on natural biotopes, which often have Diplopoda as its element. The aim of this study was to evaluate the integrity of linear morphological characteristics of experimental animal Rossiulus kessleri (Lohmander, 1927) in different forest biotopes within semi-arid climate of the steppe zone. To determine the interrelation of morphological features, the method of correlation pleiades was used. It is established that 14 studied morphological characteristics of R. kessleri form the most powerful correlation pleiades with relative intensity values 0.64 and 0.93, within natural subwatereshed-ravine landscape and terrace flood plain forest conditions respectively. However, weakened one with 0.07 relative intensity value is observed within standing forest. Generally, the integrity of morphological characteristics of millipedes is increasingly prominent in the natural forest biotopes and extremely low in forest stands. Morphological variability of diplopods identified sylvatization degree of julidae's habitat. Relative potency value of correlation pleiades can be used for diagnostics of forest stands naturalization within the steppe zone of Ukraine.