Abstract

Important for soil quality, the edaphic fauna is indicative of an environment in equilibrium. The study aimed to identify the macrofauna and mesofauna organisms of the soil in a fragment of riparian forest. The work was carried out in a fragment of ciliary forest on the farm Tamanduá, municipality of Santa Terezinha, Paraíba. The macrofauna was quantified in soil samples collected at different depths (0-5 cm and 5-10 cm) using the TSBF method. For the mesofauna was collected randomly in the same area, samples of soil + litter in the depths 0-5 cm and 5-10 cm using metal rings. The design was completely randomized in a 4 × 2 factorial scheme (4 seasons, 2 depths), with 5 replicates, the means being compared by the Tukey test. The main orders of the macrofauna were: Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Isoptera, and Enquitreídeos being the order of greater proportion in the two depths to Hymenoptera. There were a higher population and diversity of soil macrofauna in the superficial layer (0-5 cm). For the mesofauna were found in the samples organisms belonging to the groups Acarina and Collembola, being the order Acarina the most representative in the two depths evaluated. The environment of riparian forest presents greater diversity and density of macrofauna and mesofauna of the soil in the layer of 0.0-5.0 cm of depth, which presents greater food supply and conditions favorable to the survival of these organisms.

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