Abstract: We examined the differences in the impacts of reclamation modes on the arthropod community characteristics on the surface of coal gangue dumps, peach tree field,Zanthoxylum bungeanum field and waste grassland in coal gangue dumps in Huozhou, with the nearby corn field not affected by coal gangue dump as the control. The surface arthropod community was investigated by trapping method. The arthropod community structure, diversity and their relationships with environmental factors were quantified by species diversity index, similarity index and CCA ordination method. The results showed that a total of 3585 individuals from 46 arthropod groups were captured. The dominant groups were Neanuridae and Sminthuridae in peach tree field, Entomobryidae and Formicidae in Z. bungeanum field, Formicidae and Carabidae in corn field, and Acrididae, Aphidoidea and Formicidae in waste grassland. There were four common groups in peach tree field and eight groups in Z. bungeanum field. The common groups of both waste grassland and corn field were 13 types. The total number of waste grassland individuals was the least among the four plot types. Reclamation significantly affected the activity density, evenness, dominance and abundance of surface arthropod groups, but did not affect species diversity. Activity density, evenness, and dominance were all manifested as a significant difference between waste grassland and other plots, while the abundance was manifested as a significant difference between corn field and other plots. Results of CCA analysis showed that soil available potassium and organic matter contents were the major environmental factors affecting the characteristics of surface arthropod communities. Reclaiming peach tree field is more conducive to the survival of more surface arthropod individuals, while reclaiming Z. bungeanum field can significantly increase the number of surface arthropod groups. Our results provide theoretical guidance for coal gangue reclamation and green mine construction.

Key words: surface arthropods, community structure, soil environmental factor, coal gangue, Huozhou City.