The abundance of soil mesofauna and macrofauna at different altitudes in Mount Gede Pangrango National Park

Abstract

Soil fauna is important in the breakdown of organic matter for soil fertility. Various environmental factors, including edaphic, climatic factors, and overlying vegetation, influence the abundance of soil fauna. This study aims to analyze the abundance of soil fauna at different altitudes and the influence of the environment on it. The research was conducted at three different altitudes, namely 1,550 m asl, 1,650 m asl, 1,750 m asl, and in open land (1,200 m asl). The LSD test results showed that the abundance of soil fauna significantly differed between the altitude of 1,650 m asl and open land. In comparison, the abundance of soil fauna at the 1,550 m asl and 1,750 m asl was not significantly different at the 95% confidence interval. The results of the correlation analysis show that the climatic factors of light intensity and air temperature are negatively correlated. In contrast, air humidity positively correlates with the abundance of soil fauna. Factors strongly correlated with abundance are litter wet weight and soil pH.