Mesofauna Abundance and Soil Properties in Various Soil Améliorants and Percentage of Urea Fertilizer Dosage in Sugar Cane Plantation

Intensification land use with the conventional tillage can bring effects in the soil biodiversity. One of important organisms in soil is soil mesofauna that has an important role in decomposition of organic matter. This research aimed to study the effect of minimum tillage and full tillage on the abundance and diversity of soil meso fauna. The treatments were consisted of soil tillage (minimum tillage and full tillage) and herbicide (with and without herbicide Glifosat 2,4-D) with four replications. The location of this research have soil organic-C and total-N classified in the low criteria. The results show that the application of minimum tillage to prepare maize plantation reached significantly lowest abundance of soil mesofauna compared to full tillage in vegetative phase of maize sampling, however it was not significantly different between minimum tillage and full tillage if it combined with herbicide. Diversity index in full tillage were significantly higher that that in minimum tillage, on the contrary, the dominance index of soil mesofauna were not significantly different between tillage system. On the generative phase, there were no differences on the abundances of soil mesofauna between tillage sistem. There were three dominant mesofauna orders, namely Acarina, Collembola, and Diplopod.

Deyeuxia purpurea, a low-altitude species, has been expanding upwards into alpine tundra, and this upward expansion is causing serious ecological consequences. However, few studies have been performed regarding its effects on soil faunal communities. We examine how the upward expansion of D. purpurea affects the abundance, richness, and diversity of soil mesofauna, and evaluate how different taxa of soil mesofauna respond to the upward expansion of D. purpurea in the alpine tundra of Changbai Mountains, northeast China. A total of 128 soil mesofaunal samples were collected from four treatments, namely high upward expansion (HU), medium upward expansion (MU), low upward expansion (LU), and native plant habitats (NP). The results revealed that the abundance of soil mesofauna was increased with the rise of D. purpurea upward expansion, and the taxonomic composition varied with the different levels of D. purpurea upward expansion in the alpine tundra of the Changbai Mountains. No unique taxa were collected in the native plant habitats, and the upward expansion of D. purpurea promoted the colonization of predatory invertebrates. Isotomidae and Gamasida responded positively to the herbaceous plant upward expansion, and thus they were considered to be a positive indicator of upward expansion. Hypogastruridae and Enchytraeidae responded relatively negatively, while Oribatida, Actinedida, and Pseudachorutidae had ambivalent responses to the upward expansion. Overall, the abundance of soil mesofauna can indicate the levels of the upward expansion of D. purpurea. Soil mesofaunal guild characteristics were altered by the upward expansion. The different taxa of soil mesofauna responded to herbaceous plants’ upward expansion to various degrees. Therefore, this study provide evidence supporting the fact that the abundance of soil mesofauna can indicate the levels of upward expansion of D. purpurea, but the responses of soil mesofauna to the upward expansion of D. purpurea differ among their taxa.

The impact of different doses of NPK fertilizer on the abundance of soil mesofauna under rainfed conditions to achieve different target yields in maize crops with and without farmyard manure was studied. Soil application of 123.74:48.91:55.59 kg N:P: K/ha + 20.76 tonnes of FYM/ha harboured significantly higher soil mesofauna (26.88/400g soil) compared to other treatments during the cropping and non-cropping season. The least abundance of soil mesofauna was observed in the plot treated with recommended fertilizer alone (251.17:113.31:114.35 kg N:P: K/ha) (13.81/400 g soil) in cropping and non-cropping seasons. In the cropping season, the lowest and highest population of total soil mesofauna was noticed before the treatments (5.95/400g soil) and 105 DAG (31.85/400 g soil). Similarly, in the non-cropping season, the lowest and highest soil mesofauna abundance was recorded at 210 (2.85/400 g soil) and 120 DAG (10.85/400 g soil).

Soybean (Glycine max (L) Merril). is also called Golden bean belongs to family Fabaceae is native to China having high nutritive value and oil content. Due to usage of inorganic fertilizers the fertility of soil and yield soybean has declined. Organic manures known to increase the soil fertility, structure and also influence the microbial enzymes activity and soil mesofauna. In this context the present investigation was undertaken to study, the different doses of farm yard manure and chemical fertilizers on the soil mesofauna and microbial enzymes at GKVK, Bangalore during the year 2013-2014. The investigation revealed that higher abundance of soil mesofauna (18.53) was recorded in 20 tons of FYMha-1 compared to the treatments with recommended package of practices (12.35) and inorganic fertilizer (10.30) alone. Soil mesofauna exhibited a significant positive relation with the microbial enzymes like dehydrogenase, acid and alkaline phosphtases and urease. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis showed that the influence of exchangeable calcium, available potassium and available phosphorous, exchangeable magnesium, dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase and urease on the abundance of soil mesofauna was up to 79 per cent. Higher rhizobium nodule number (64.93/plant) and yield (16.01 q/ha) of soybean found to increase with increase in farmyard manure application.

This research was conducted to study about abundance and diversity of soil and litter mesofauna to the effect of forest cover change that occurred in the Pemerihan Resort, Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park. This research was compiled in a completely randomized design (CRD) and there were four different lands, which were: (1) primary forest, (2) coffee plantation, (3) corn field, and (4) grassland. The observation of mesofauna was taken in soil and litter from four different lands cover. The variable of observation were mesofauna abundance and diversity index, soil chemical properties (pH, organic carbon, total nitrogen, P available, and exchanged potassium), and soil physics properties (bulk density, soil temperature, humidity, and porosity). Data were analyzed using F test and further test using least significant differences (LSD) at 5%. The results showed that the different of lands cover affect the diversity index of litter mesofauna, the abundance of litter and soil mesofauna, yet did not affect the diversity index of mesofauna underground. However, the abundance and diversity index of soil and litter mesofauna in the primary forest was higher than the other lands.

This research was conducted to study the population and diversity of soil and leaf litter mesofauna in arable soils under different types of vegetation and slope at the Agriculture Experimental Field (AEF) of University of Lampung. This study was designed to use the survey method. The soil and leaf litter samples were taken from different vegetation and slope classes. Observational variables included population and diversity index of soil mesofauna (H’), soil temperature, soil moisture content, soil pH, soil organic-C, soil total-N, and soil C/N ratio. The data of population distribution were presented in a boxplot diagram and the correlation between soil properties and mesofauna population or mesofauna diversity index were presented. The results showed that the most abundant soil mesofauna was observed in the plots with sugarcane vegetation, either sampled at the end of dry season (November 2015) or at the beginning of rainy season (April 2016). However, the highest number of leaf litter mesofauna was found in the plot with cassava vegetation. This result suggests that the cassava leaf litter most likely became the preferred substrate for mesofauna. In all treatments, the value of mesofauna diversity index (H‘) was categorized as low according to the Shannon-Weaver index. Two dominant orders frequently found in almost all vegetation types were Acarina and Collembola. The results of correlation analysis indicated that only soil pH sampled on November 2015 was positively correlated with the mesofauna population (range of pH 5.0 to 6.6). Soil moisture content sampled on November 2015 and soil C/N ratio sampled on April 2016 were positively correlated with the diversity index of soil mesofauna, respectively. Soil total-N sampled on November 2015 was negatively correlated with the soil mesofauna diversity index. The increase of leaf litter biomass appeared to promote the increase of the leaf litter mesofauna population, but not the diversity index.Keywords: diversity index, leaf litter, soil mesofauna, vegetation

Mesofauna as effective indicators of soil quality differences in the agricultural systems of central Cuba

The present field experiment, with potential implications for agricultural practices, focused on the effect of different Bt cotton varieties on the soil and litter mesofauna in the farmer's fields around Chamarajnagar, Southern Karnataka, India. The mean abundance of soil mesofauna varied from 9.00(PCH888 Bt) to 116.67 (tank bed soil) mesofauna /400 g soil. However, the mean litter mesofauna ranged from 13.00(PCH 888) to 40.67 (Mahyco 7351Bt) mesofauna /400 g litter. The undisturbed tank bed soil possessed significantly higher soil mesofauna (116.67 mesofauna /400 g soil) and was on par with the long-term cropping system, viz., Areca nut soil (71.00 mesofauna /400 g soil). However, the latter ecosystem was on par with the litter of Mahyco-7351 Bt (40.67 mesofauna /400 g). The mesofauna abundance in the litter of Mahyco-7351Bt showed no difference with natural forest litter, maize soil, suraj non-Bt litter, sugarcane field soil, Suraj non-Bt soil, MRC-7351Bt litter, Mahyco-7351Bt soil, PCH-888Bt litter and natural forest soil. However, MRC-7351 Bt soil registered significantly least mesofauna (8.67 mesofauna /400g). However, it was on par with the rest of the treatments except Tank bed soil, areca nut garden soil and Mahyco-7351 Bt litter. Key words: Bt cotton, Non-Bt cotton, Litter and soil mesofauna, Traditional crops.

Abstract. Barus J, Meithasari D, Lumbanraja J, Sudarsono H, Hidayat KF, Dermiyati. 2021. Soil mesofauna amount and diversity by returning fresh and compost of crops biomass waste in ultisols in-situ. Biodiversitas 21: 92-98. Newly added organic matter to the soil often has no significant effect on the physical and chemical properties of the soil. However, the addition of organic matter greatly affects the abundance and diversity of living organisms in the soil, because the addition of organic matter is one of the sources of food. The aim of this research was to study the impact of returning crop biomass waste in fresh or compost forms on the abundance and diversity of soil mesofauna. Three types of crop biomass residues (i.e. maize stover, rice straw, and soybean stover) were used at doses of 0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10 t ha-1. Mesofauna observations were carried out three times, namely at two weeks after biomass waste application (before planting rice), at eight weeks (there were rice plants in the soil), and at fourteen weeks (after rice harvest). The soil sample for mesofauna observation was dry extracted using a Berlese funnel set up, and to calculate and identified using a binocular microscope. The result showed that the number and diversity of mesofauna in the addition of compost was higher than that of fresh biomass waste. Increasing the dose of biomass waste has an effect on increasing the number and diversity of soil mesofauna. The presence of rice plants in the soil at the time of observation also affected the abundance of soil mesofauna.

Soil mesofauna effects on litter decomposition in the coniferous forest of the Changbai Mountains, China

The present field experiment focused on the effects of applying inorganic fertilizers and farm yard manure based on soil testing and crop response (STCR) on the introduced native soil mesofauna in the cabbage cropping system. The mean abundance of soil mesofauna was significantly high in STCR 30q ha-1 integrated with 59:74:109 Kg NPK/ha +25t FYM/ha +2 kg/plot mesofauna rich soil treatment (17.67 mesofauna /400 g soil) and was on par with rest of the treatments except LMH (167:100:163KgNPK/ha +25t FYM/ha) +no mesofauna rich soil (13.00 mesofauna/400 g soil), Control +2kg/plot mesofauna rich soil (11.89 mesofauna /400g soil) and STCR 30q ha-1 Integrated (59:74:109 Kg NPK/ha +25 t FYM/ha) + no mesofauna rich soil (11.33 mesofauna/ 400 g soil). The latter treatment recorded the least soil mesofauna. The introduced native soil mesofauna multiplied more in reduced fertilizer doses with the addition of FYM treatments compared to only fertilizer-applied treatment. Soil mesofauna was significantly more during 45 days after treatment and reduced significantly at the harvesting stage. Key words: STCR, fertilizer, farm yard manure, introduced native soil mesofauna, cabbage

Composition and Spatial Distribution of Soil Mesofauna Along an Elevation Gradient on the North Slope of the Changbai Mountains, China

Soil quality and mesofauna diversity relationship are modulated by woody species and seasonality in semiarid oak forest

Southeast Sulawesi has a coastline length of 1,740 km, but the community has not made optimal use of the coastal land, especially for agricultural activities. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of applying biochar and chicken manure on water content and some chemical properties of coastal soils, to determine the effect of biochar and chicken manure interaction on the growth of mustard plants on coastal soils and find out better doses of biochar and chicken manure on the growth of mustard plants. This study used a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with a factorial pattern consists of two factors, namely biochar B0 = 0 g polybag-1, B1 = 75 g polybag-1 equivalent to 30 t ha-1, B2 = 150 g polybag-1 equivalent to 60 t ha-1 and chicken manure which is P0 = 0 g polybag-1, P1 = 75 g polybag-1 equivalent to 30 t ha-1, P2 = 150 g of polybag-1 is equivalent to 60 t ha-1. Observed variables of moisture content, some chemical properties of the soil as well as plant height and number of leaves. The results showed that the application of biochar and chicken manure was able to increase the air content, pH, Organic-C and total-N. In the B1P1 treatment, the interaction effect on the height and number of mustard leaves and the dose of fertilizer that gave a better effect than other treatments, namely biochar 75 g polybag-1 or equivalent to 30 t ha-1 + chicken manure 75 g polybag-1 or equivalent to 30 t ha-1

Organonitrophos (OP) is an organic fertilizer which is enriched by nitrogen-fixing and phosphorus solubilizer microbes. This study aimed to determine the effect of the combination dose of OP and inorganic fertilizers as well as the addition of biochar and its interaction on soil fauna (earthworms and mesofauna) in Ultisol soil during the maize growth. This research was conducted at the Integrated Field Laboratory, University of Lampung. The treatment used was a 6 × 2 factorial with three replications in a randomized block design (RBD). The first factor was the combination dose of OP and inorganic fertilizers consisting of six levels, and the second factor was biochar from rice husk consisting of two levels. Earthworm was examined using “hand sorting” method and soil mesofauna using dry extract “Barlesse-Tulgreen” method. The results showed that during the maize growth, the highest population of earthworms and soil mesofauna as well as the highest biomass of earthworm were found in P5 treatment (100% OP). Application of 100% biochar (B1) decreased the population and biomass of earthworms, on the contrary it increased the population of soil mesofauna. Moreover, Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index of soil mesofauna is not affected by the combined fertilizers and biochar.