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The structure and composition of the soil micro‐arthropod communities of five postmining rehabilitating sites (between 1 and 24 years after rehabilitation) are compared with that of an undisturbed dune forest benchmark. We extracted soil micro‐arthropods (Acari and insects) with a modified Berlese–Tullgren funnel and used soil carbon, calcium, potassium, magnesium, nitrogen, sodium, phosphorous and acidity (pH) as explanatory variables of micro‐arthropod community composition.

Acari accounted for the majority of all the micro‐arthropods (between 65 and 97% of the sample) at the different sites. Density, richness, diversity and composition showed significant differences between the unmined benchmark site and the rehabilitating sites for both insects and Acari, with weak habitat‐age related patterns. Canonical Correspondence Analysis suggests that differences between samples from regenerating sites …