To sum up, a temperature increase from 10 to 23◦C caused an overall increase in total abundance of the invertebrate community, with species interactions clearly visible. The major increase occurred during the first 0–28/-61 days (equivalent to spring),fastest at higher temperatures. We conclude that the effects of temperature changes on populations/communities in the field are best captured in populations with high fecundity e.g. equivalent to spring-time in temperate zones where the fecundity based growth phase is dominant. Total abundance was in general reduced with exposure to Cu contaminated soil, except for M. macrochaeta, which had a larger population (compared to control) at higher temperatures. The relative species composition changed both with temperature and pollution, with F. candida, E. crypticus and M.macrochaeta playing key roles, given the high reproduction efficiency for the first two and the temperature and low Cu sensitivity for the latter.