Collembolan Density and Diversity in a Forest and an Agroecosystem

D Paul,A Nongmaithem,L K Jha

doi:10.4236/ojss.2011.12008

Abstract

Collembola, commonly called “springtails” are wingless soft-bodied hexapods that are usually between 1 and 3 millimetres in length and occur in varying habits such as, soil surface and litter, under rocks or the bark of trees. The great majority develop in soil, feeding on fungi, bacteria, algae and decaying plant matter, and along with other soil fauna constitute the decomposer community. The present study examines the diversity, density, and seasonal variation patterns of collembolan fauna under different intensities of disturbance, as evidenced in a forest and an agroecosystem. Results indicate that both densities and diversity of collembola was higher in the forest than in the agroecosystem. Seasonal fluctuation exhibited an increase from spring to summer and autumn and a decrease during winter. The coorelation patterns with different chemo-edaphic factors did not show any specific trend.Indices of diversity and significant correlation values are discussed in light of landuse.

Highlights

Soil as a habitat contains the most diverse assemblages of living organisms
Soil moisture gradient and changes in soil temperature were observed to play a significant role in seasonal fluctuation and distribution of collembola [6,7,8,9,10]
Physico-Chemical Factors pH of forest soil ranged between 5.57 and 6.02, indicating that the soils are acidic in nature

Summary

Introduction

Collembola, commonly known as springtails, are small wingless soft-bodied hexapods that are usually between 1 and 3 millimetres in length, generally found on or near the soil surface and in the litter, under rocks or the bark of trees They are usually associated with decaying organic matter, some species even found inhabiting the nests of ants and termites [1]. They are the most abundant insects found all over the world in a great variety of habitats, and densities as high as 200,000 individual per square metre have been recorded [2]. Soil moisture gradient and changes in soil temperature were observed to play a significant role in seasonal fluctuation and distribution of collembola [6,7,8,9,10]

Methods

Results

Conclusion