Macrofauna of hydrobionts in the Gubkinsko-Starooskolsky mining area: the case of the Oskolets River

Abstract

The areas of iron ore mining and processing are characterized by a high level of anthropogenic load. Among them is the Starooskolsko-Gubkinsky mining area of the Belgorod region. A certain indicator of the influence caused by mining enterprises on the adjacent territories is the state of hydrobiocenoses in surface watercourses located in the zone of their direct influence. The Oskolets River was adopted as a model; its middle reach is located in close proximity to the Lebedinsky mining and processing plant (LMPP), from where the drainage waters of the quarry are discharged. The aim of the work was to differentiate the contribution of this enterprise to the general pollution of the river using bioindication methods