Resumo

NOGUERA-TALAVERA, Álvaro; REYES-SANCHEZ, Nadir; MENDIETA-ARAICA, Bryan  e  SALGADO-DUARTE, Martha Miriam. Soil macrofauna as indicator of agroecological conversion of a productive system of Moringa oleifera Lam. in Nicaragua. Pastos y Forrajes [online]. 2017, vol.40, n.4, pp.184-187. ISSN 0864-0394.

In order to determine the diversity and functionality of soil macrofauna as biological indicator of soil health and the effect of management practices in productive systems of Moringa oleifera Lam., a study was conducted in areas of the National Agricultural University, Nicaragua. The essays lasted nine months, in which agroecological management and conventional management practices were implemented. The soil macrofauna was sampled through the methodology developed by the International Tropical Soil Fertility and Biology Program. Taxonomic identification at phylum, class, order and family level was performed, as well as of functional groups: detritivores, soil engineers, herbivores and predators. The non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test was applied to determine statistical differences in the variation of density per taxon and functional group per management system. The density of individuals was statistically different (p < 0,05) between management systems at class, order and family level. Diversity was higher in agroecological conversion, and a higher equitability of families stood out. The functional groups were different between systems, with dominance of soil engineers (64,22 %) in agroecological conversion, and of detritivores (74,19 %) in conventional management. Association was found of the management practices with the density and diversity of the soil macrofauna; and the organisms Formicidae, Termitidae and Coleoptera, which interacted with M. oleifera in different development stages, were identified. The number of taxonomic units constituted an indicator that allowed to distinguish between the management systems, soil health and transformation dynamics of the chemical, physical and biological properties of each system.

Palavras-chave : biodiversity; soil management; indicator organisms.

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