Abstract
Irrigated rice fields have been cultivated for thousands of years, and a high diversity of invertebrate species has been associated with these agricultural areas. Investigations on the structure and diversity of aquatic invertebrates in rice fields are scarce in southern Brazil. Thus, the main goal of this study was to conduct an inventory of the aquatic invertebrate diversity in rice fields and irrigation canals in an important rice ultivation area in Rio Grande do Sul to preserve the biota in these agroecosystems. Six collections were carried out along a cultivation cycle (June 2005 – June 2006) in six rice fields and four irrigation canals in the Coastal Plain of Rio Grande do Sul. A total of 26,579 individuals in 119 invertebrate taxa distributed among seven Phyla were collected over the cultivation cycle investigated in rice fields and irrigation canals. The arthropods were the invertebrates which showed the greatest amount of sampled taxa. Collectors, predators, and omnivores were the prevalent functional feeding groups in this study. Naididae, Chironomidae, Spongillidae, Libellulidae, and Tubificidae families were those which showed the highest number proof genera and species. The invertebrate composition was different between rice fields and irrigation canals over the rice cultivation cycle. Besides, some ere more frequent over the rice cultivation period whereas other ones were more associated with the non-cultivation period. Rice fields and irrigation canals are systems colonized by a variety of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, and they present a high biologic diversity which can be hardly found in other cultivation areas. Key words: artificial wetlands, arthropods, biodiversity, functional feeding groups.
Highlights
Até o final dos anos 80, o principal enfoque da biologia da conservação esteve concentrado nos ecossistemas naturais, incluindo principalmente aqueles protegidos sob a forma de unidades de conservação, os quais correspondem a somente 11,5% da superfície terrestre do planeta (Rodrigues et al, 2004; Bambaradeniya et al, 2004)
Irrigated rice fields have been cultivated for thousands of years, and a high diversity of invertebrate species has been associated with these agricultural areas
The main goal of this study was to conduct an inventory of the aquatic invertebrate diversity in rice fields and irrigation canals in an important rice cultivation area in Rio Grande do Sul to preserve the biota in these agroecosystems
Summary
As lavouras de arroz irrigado são sistemas cultivados há milênios, e uma alta diversidade de espécies de invertebrados tem sido associada com essas áreas agrícolas. O objetivo geral desse estudo foi realizar um inventário da diversidade de invertebrados aquáticos em lavouras de arroz e em canais de irrigação em uma importante região orizícola do Rio Grande do Sul, visando à conservação da biota nesses agroecossistemas. Os artrópodes foram os invertebrados com o maior número de táxons amostrados. A composição de invertebrados foi diferente entre lavouras de arroz e canais de irrigação ao longo do ciclo de cultivo estudado. As lavouras de arroz e canais de irrigação são sistemas colonizados por uma variedade de invertebrados aquáticos e terrestres, apresentando uma alta diversidade biológica dificilmente encontrada em outras áreas agrícolas. Palavras-chave: áreas úmidas artificiais, artrópodes, biodiversidade, grupos tróficos funcionais
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