The influence of fertilization with the compost prepared from treated sewage sludge with bark additive and mulching with the fresh forest ectohumus on the soil conditions, chosen parameters of one-year old littleleaf linden seedlings growth as well as the occurrence of soil mites (Acari) was investigated in the paper. The experiments were carried out in 2008 at forest nursery Białe Błota (Forest District Bydgoszcz) on the rusty soil. The whole area of the experiment was irrigated with the use of stationary sprinkling machine. The soil was characterized by the alkaline reaction (pH in H₂O in the range 7,2– –7,4), the low content of available potassium and available phosphorus as well as the content of C org. from 35,7 to 38,4 g · kg–1. The C : N ratio ranged 14,3–14,9. Littleleaf linden seedlings on plots fertilized with the compost were characterized by the higher number of leaves and the higher leaf area as well as by the greater diameter of the stem and the higher fresh mass. But, the seedlings were lower than those grown on the plots fertilized with mineral fertilizer. Influence of mulching – conducted in September – was insignificant in case of all the studied parameters of one-year old littleleaf linden seedlings growth. The mulching significantly influenced on the occurrence of soil mites. The increase of the density and the species diversity of these arthropods were noted on mulched plots. Communities of these soil mites were characterized by the domination of oribatid mites (Oribatida).

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