Resumen

HUERTA LWANGA, Esperanza et al. Relationship Between Soil Fertility and its Macroinvertebrates Population. Terra Latinoam [online]. 2008, vol.26, n.2, pp.171-181. ISSN 2395-8030.

Soil macroinvertebrates intervene in the processes of infiltration, aeration and incorporation of soil organic matter. Soil biological conditions are affected by continuous use of agrochemicals or tillage. In this study we determined whether the abundance and presence of different orders of macroinvertebrates can indicate the degree of fertility of a system. The study was carried out in 24 sites, 17 managed (tree polyculture, fruit trees, sugarcane, and induced pasture) and 7 natural (rain forest, pasture, and riparian vegetation) systems. We sampled soil macroinvertebrates using the TSBF international method (25 x 25 x 30 cm monoliths). Ten to 50 monoliths were made per site. The highest number (9) of taxon orders was found with the highest Shannon diversity index (H = 2) in tropical rain forest, riparian vegetation and fallow land with legumes, sites with the highest organic matter content (3-15%), available Olsen phosphorus (1324 mg kg^-1) and total nitrogen (0.14-0.43%), with pH values near 7. The number of taxon orders depended on land use; in tree polycultures it was 8 to 6 and 1 to 5 in non-tree monocultures such as maize or induced pasture, which were the sites with the least organic matter contents (1.6-3.5%), available Olsen phosphorus (2-14 mg kg^-1), and total nitrogen (0.2%), with pH values near 5.

Palabras llave : agro systems; natural ecosystems.

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