Edaphic invertebrate macrofauna associated with cassava crop in different soil coverages

Abstract

This study aimed to identify and assess the edaphic invertebrate macrofauna associated with cassava crop in succession to different soil coverages. The experimental design was randomized blocks as 6 x 3 factorial design with four replications. The first factor was soil cover cultivated from December 2014 to April 2015 (fallow, pearl millet, forage sorghum, Crotalaria ochroleuca, Urochloa ruziziensis and Corn+Urochloa ruziziensis). The second factor was sampling periods (March/2015, October/2015 and June/2016). We sampled four blocks of 0.25 x 0.25 x 0.20 m in each system, following the TSBF (Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility) collection method. The taxonomic composition and abundance of organisms, richness of groups and the diversity indexes of Shannon, Pielou equitability and Simpson dominance were evaluated. There was no interaction between the factors (soil cover x season) for the variables studied. There was difference in the dominance of organisms according to the soil cover (isolated), being the highest index (0.44) obtained by previous cultivation of forage sorghum. The abundance of organisms, group richness and diversity index were influenced by sampling period, demonstrating the influence of seasonality on the invertebrate macrofauna community of the soil