Abstract
Soil invertebrates play a significant role in improving soil structures. Man uses nitrogenous fertilizers to improve growth of cultivated lands and provide plants with nutrients. The intensive addition of fertilizers accumulates soil nitrate which affects soil fauna. This investigation was designed to study the effects of nitrate concentration in the soil and some ecological factors on the soil macroinvertebrates inhabiting different agricultural lands at El-Minia governorate. Six sites were chosen for this study. Samples of soil and invertebrates were collected monthly during a period of one year extended from December 2013 till November 2014 using pitfall traps. The study revealed the occurrence of twenty six taxa in the investigated sites. The density of each taxon obviously varied in each site according to the season. The majority of collected macroinvertebrates assigned to phylum Arthropoda. The most dominant species at all sites belonged to order Isopoda then Orthoptera. Higher density of macroinvertebrates was recorded during spring and summer compared to their relevant numbers during winter and autumn. All collected macroinvertebrates exhibited negative correlation with nitrate concentration of soil in their habitat, especially isopods that showed strong significant correlation.
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