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The conservation status of soils with different uses was characterized using the taxonomic and trophic composition of the edaphic mesofauna. The research was conducted during the rainy season of 2009 in 11 sites selected under four general classes of land use (GCLU): regenerated forests, pasturelands, sugarcane plantations and varied crops (mainly potatoes). Three soil samples were taken in each land use replication, at only one depth level (0-10 cm), following a stratified completely randomized sampling design. For the extraction Berlese-Tullgren funnels were used, with a source of light and heat, during seven days. The highest values of taxonomic composition of these soil micro arthropods were found in the forests, with 16 families, followed by pasturelands with nine families, varied crops and sugarcane plantations with six families each. On the other hand, the largest representation of detritivorous groups appeared in the forest with four orders, 15 families and 151 individuals, followed by varied crops with two orders, five families and 62 individuals, and pasturelands with two orders, eight families and 37 individuals; while in sugarcane plantations fungivores were the best represented by an order and 22 individuals. The taxonomic and trophic composition of the groups that integrate the edaphic mesofauna indicated the soil degradation status in the order sugarcane plantation-varied crops, followed by pastureland and, finally, forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to analyze the functional composition of soil macro fauna in different land use types including secondary forest, pastures, fields with varied crop cultivation destined to potato production and sugarcane fields. The land use systems were located in the Artemisa and Mayabeque provinces. In these systems the edaphic macro fauna was collected in October, at the end of the rainy season of 2009, using the TSBF methodology. The data processing included the determination of the density and biomass of the macro fauna functional groups in each land use, and the statistical analysis implicated the Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test. The soil engineers and/or detritivores communities were observed to be better represented in density in the majority of land uses, and in biomass, the detritivore and/or herbivore functional groups. The proportion between the functional groups of soil macro fauna in the land uses depended on land use intensity, the disturbance level of the edaphic environment and the availability of resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 macro fauna 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 macro fauna was collected using the methodology proposed by the TSBF program. The taxonomic richness, density and biomass of soil macro fauna 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 macro fauna regarding density and biomass in most of the land uses. The results about taxonomic richness, density and biomass of the edaphic macro fauna indicated the degree of soil degradation due to land use intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the basin of La Vieja river, Colombia, the earthworm communities were sampled from the plot to the landscape level, in order to describe and predict the conditions of the agroecosystems in six windows of 1 km2, with 16 sampling points and 96 mono liais located at 200 m from each other; the method of the Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility (TSBF) Program was used in 51 farms and 24 land uses. In order to analyze the influence of the human activity the differences in abundance and number of species were evaluated at landscape level, through the correspondence analysis (CA) with the interaction of variables to find indicator species and groups of species that characterized the land uses. Thirty one earthworm species were found, belonging to four families and 12 genera, from them, 15 were native, 9 exotic and 7 unknown. The species belong to the following ecological categories: epigeal (21) andendogeal (10) and most of them (14) inhabit the 0-20 cm soil layers with an average vertical distribution at 7,5 cm of depth. The abundance values of the earthworms permitted the separation of land uses into conserved and degraded with earthworm species indicators of change. It is concluded that earthworms are stable bioindicators for monitoring human pressure due to the effect of introduction of land uses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]