Author(s): ROANI, R.; NIVA, C. C.; MARCHAO, R. L.; DURÃES, N.; BROWN, G. G.

Summary: ABSTRACT The epi-edaphic macrofauna are important for soil functioning and their populations are sensitive to soil management. In this study, the effect of integrated and continuous cropping systems on the edaphic macrofauna was evaluated in a long-term experiment at Embrapa Cerrados in Planaltina-DF, Brazil. Sampling took place in the wet and dry seasons of 2019, using pitfall traps in nine treatments with two replicates, including croplivestock integration with or without cover crops and with minimum cultivation or no-tillage; continuous pasture of pure grass or intercropped with legumes; continuous tillage with and without cover crops; and a fragment of native Cerrado vegetation. A strong seasonality was observed, with 56 indicator macrofauna morphospecies in the rainy season and 38 in the dry season. Integrated systems in the cropping phase had greater dominance of some groups of fauna, such as ants, beetles and moth catterpillars, leading to lower Shannon diversity values. No-tillage, integrated systems with cover-crops and the native Cerrado had the highest morpho-species richness, showing potential as repositories of local epi-edaphic macroinvertebrate biodiversity.

Publication year: 2021

Types of publication: Paper in annals and proceedings

Unit: Embrapa Cerrados

Keywords: Animal Invertebrado, Macrofauna, Sistema agropastoril