Survey of soil mesofauna in permanent preservation area of Vila Bananeiras, Arapiraca/AL/Levantamento da mesofauna do solo em área de preservação permanente da Vila Bananeiras, Arapiraca/AL

Abstract

The edaphic mesofauna consists of organisms between 0.2 and 2.0 mm in length. Among its members are the mites (Acari) and collemboli (Collembola), the diversity of these microarthropods is related to soil type and its physical and chemical characteristics. The objective of this research was to record data about the density and richness of the soil mesofauna in a permanent preservation area in the Alagoano forest. For this survey the modified Berlese-Tullgren funnel was used. Ten soil samples were collected from 3 meters away from each other, the dominant group was Acarina with 107 specimens, followed by the Collembola group with 79 specimens, suggesting that the mites have greater adaptability to the studied environment.

Keywords

• soil biodiversity
• living organisms
• microarthropods
• bioindicators