Effect of the potato crop on the soil fauna at the Paramo Guerrero

Abstract

Agricultural practices at the Paramo alter the ecological structure of the soil fauna diminishing their composition, abundance and wealth. This study was developed at the Paramo Guerrero, Cundinamarca, with the objective to determine the effect of agricultural practices on the soil fauna. Samples were taken without antropic intervention and in presence of potato crops. The fauna was obtained from monoliths, realizing extraction and identification in the laboratory. 91 morphological types were found, being the groups with more participation: Arthropoda: Aracnida and Hexapoda and Families: Entomobrydae, Campodeidae, Staphilinidae, Formicidae, Enicocephalidae and Onychiuridae. 695 individuals were registered, corresponding 62.2% to area 1 and 37.8% to the cultivated area. The highest values of abundance, diversity and composition were in the area of the paramo, characterized also by the frequency of groups that presented a low density, indicating high specificity with the habitat availability. In the areas with cultivations, the frequency of the soil fauna was low, as well as the perseverance and dominance. The establishment of potato cultures in the paramo causes changes in the composition and abundance, some groups disappear, while others, as the cosmopolitan species, increase or adapt to the conditions of the environment.