Macrofauna edáfica con énfasis en isoptera en tres coberturas de suelo en la Orinoquía colombiana

Abstract

The biodiversity of soil macrofauna is affected by land use change causing consequences in the different ecosystem services they provide, including hydrological regulation. The objective of this research was to estimate and compare the diversity of macrofauna orders and termite species in three contrasting land covers: gallery forests, clean pastures and plantain (Musa paradisiaca L.) crops, in the municipality of Villanueva, Casanare. For the collection of macrofauna, the modified TSBF methodology proposed by Anderson and Ingram (1993) was used. Additionally, soil samples were extracted to characterize the physicochemical properties. The observed macrofauna and soil properties were correlated by means of Principal Component Analysis and Non-Metric Distance Scalling (NMSD). We obtained 2.554 individuals were obtained in 499 samples (4 phylum, 6 classes, 20 orders and 169 morphotypes) with the orders Blattodea, Hymenoptera Coleoptera and Phylum Annelida being the most abundant. The number of effective orders was 40% less in pastures and 20% less in crops, compared to gallery forests. The cover with the highest absolute abundance was banana crops with 1,072 individuals, followed by gallery forests with 941 individuals, and finally, pasture cover with 541 individuals. Regarding termite diversity, the humivorous species Disjunctitermes insularis Scheffrahn, 2017 (Isoptera: Apicotermtinae) was predominant in the three coverages, with lower abundance in the pastures and can be considered an indicator species of site quality. From a symmetrical correspondence analysis, it was obtained that the composition of the sampled taxa was similar between banana crops and pastures, while gallery forests presented a broader composition. Likewise, the taxonomic groups Chilopoda and Dermaptera in gallery forests, Lepidoptera in clean pastures and Blattodea and Diplopoda in crops+Gallery forest were highlighted as orders and/or indicator groups. Overall, of the 15 soil variables evaluated, only a positive relationship was found with soil pH which can be considered as an important factor for monitoring and land cover management strategies. The implications of these findings for soil water regulation are discussed.