Epigeal invertebrate fauna in monoculture and integrated systems in the cerrado biome Piauí

João Rodrigues Da Cunha,Renato Falconeres Vogado,Luiz Fernando Carvalho Leite,Henrique Antunes De Souza,Adriano Veniciús Santana Gualberto

doi:10.33448/rsd-v10i4.13888

Abstract

Epigeal fauna are considered key biological indicators of soil quality, which can be used as parameters for determining sustainable agricultural production systems. This study aimed to evaluate the epigeal fauna under different monoculture and integrated production systems in a Yellow Latosol in the Cerrado biome. The epigeal fauna was sampled using pitfall traps in areas of no-tillage, pasture, exclusive eucalyptus cultivation, integrated livestock-forest system and in a native cerrado. The following variables were determined: number of individuals trap-1 day-1, total richness and the indices of Shannon and Pielou. The number of individuals trap-1 day-1 and richness were higher in native cerrado, while the no-tillage area presented the lowest values. For the Shannon and Pielou indices, native cerrado and integrated livestock-forest system presented the highest values while exclusive eucalyptus cultivation and no-tillage presented the lowest values. The pasture, exclusive eucalyptus cultivation and integrated livestock-forest system favored the ecological indexes of the epigeal fauna, while no-tillage was the system that least contributed to the establishment of these organisms. In areas explored with pasture, exclusive eucalyptus cultivation and integrated livestock-forest system, the community and the diversity of groups of fauna tend to increase. The association with different groups of fauna is more expressive in environments of native cerrado and exclusive eucalyptus cultivation.

Highlights

In the Cerrado biome located in Piauí, Northeast Brazil, there has been intensive soil use with continuous applications of correctives, fertilizers and agrochemicals
The different groups of the epigeal soil fauna are of fundamental importance for the maintenance of soil quality because they participate in important ecological processes, performing various environmental functions, such as the litter fragmentation, organic matter decomposition, biorecycling and redistribution of nutrients between the different soil layers and gallery opening (Choudhary et al, 2018; Bartz et al, 2014)
3.1 Diversity e population of fauna The number of individuals trap-1 day-1, which represents the abundance of epigeal fauna organisms, differed significantly (p≤0.05) between the systems, with the highest value found in the native Cerrado (NC) area, while the lowest value was found in NT (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

In the Cerrado biome located in Piauí, Northeast Brazil, there has been intensive soil use with continuous applications of correctives (e.g. lime, gypsum), fertilizers and agrochemicals. Such practices cause severe changes in soil properties (Braz et al, 2013), compromising the sustainability of the ecosystem and deteriorating the biological component of the soil, such as the composition of the epigeal invertebrate fauna (Lima et al, 2019; Bartz et al, 2014). In addition to its ecological function, the invertebrates are considered important bioindicators of soil quality due to their high sensitivity to impacts caused by different management and land use systems. The indications of soil management systems that promote greater biological conservation can be done by assessing the disturbance levels of invertebrate fauna, observing a decline the abundance and diversity of species, in addition to the change in the fauna composition from o non disturbed, as well as the presence of certain specific groups (Souza et al, 2016; Silva et al, 2012)

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion