Abstract

BOTINA G., Bibiana et al. EVALUATION OF SOIL MACROFAUNA IN SOLANUM TUBEROSUM (SOLANALES: SOLANACEAE) WITH TRADITIONAL AND MINIMUM TILLAGE SYSTEMS. Bol. Cient. Mus. Hist. Nat. Univ. Caldas [online]. 2012, vol.16, n.2, pp.69-77. ISSN 0123-3068.

The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the diversity, abundance, and biomass of soil macrofauna in four soil uses: potato crops with minimum tillage, potato crops with traditional tillage, bare soil, and a kikuyu turfgrass. The methodology from the Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility (TSBF) program was used to evaluate the fauna. Soil macrofauna was identified to order and family level. The greatest abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrates was found with bare soil and turfgrass, compared with the other treatments. There was a noteworthy presence of scarab grubs (Scarabeidae) and mites (Oribatida) in tillage soils, which are characteristic organisms of these systems. Earthworms (Haplotaxida) represented the highest biomass and abundance in less intervened soils, reaffirming the potential of these organisms as soil quality bioindicators of the studied agro ecosystems. Tillage type and use are determining factors in macrofauna biodiversity in soil, because it can benefit or affect their establishment and development.

Keywords : potato crop; edaphic biota; soil laboring; biodiversity.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )