Resumen

CABRERA, Grisel; ROBAINA, Nayla  y  PONCE DE LEON, D. Richness and abundance of soil macrofauna in four land uses of the Artemisa and Mayabeque provinces, Cuba. Pastos y Forrajes [online]. 2011, vol.34, n.3, pp.313-330. ISSN 0864-0394.

The study assessed the effect of the intensity of different land uses (secondary forests, pasturelands, fields with varied crop cultivation dedicated to potato production and sugarcane plantations) on the richness and abundance of soil macrofauna communities. The research was conducted in October, at the end of the rainy season, 2009, in the Artemisa and Mayabeque provinces where the different land use systems are located. The soil macrofauna was collected using the methodology proposed by the TSBF program. The taxonomic richness, density and biomass of soil macrofauna were evaluated and the data processing included nonparametric tests. The highest values of richness, density and biomass were obtained in the secondary forests and the lowest values in the pasturelands, varied crop cultivation and sugarcane plantations. Haplotaxida, Formicidae, Isoptera, Coleoptera and Diplopoda were the prevailing taxonomic units of the macrofauna regarding density and biomass in most of the land uses. The results about taxonomic richness, density and biomass of the edaphic macrofauna indicated the degree of soil degradation due to land use intensity.

Palabras clave : Multiple land use; soil fauna.

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