Title
Edaphic macrofauna and soil physicochemical properties, in smallholder coffee farms
Other title
Macrofauna edáfica e propriedades físico-químicas do solo, em fazendas de café de pequenos produtores Macrofauna edáfica y propiedades físico-químicas del suelo, en fincas cafetaleras de pequeños agricultores
Date Issued
30 September 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Publisher(s)
Universidad del Zulia
Abstract
Edaphic macrofauna is a biological soil indicator that is rarely applied in the identification of soil quality in coffee farms. The objective was to evaluate edaphic macrofauna and soil physico-chemical properties in four coffee farms at different altitudes. The farms were selected in four hamlets of small-scale coffee farmers. In one-hectare plantations, three monoliths of 25 × 25 cm wide by 30 cm depth were sampled. Soil samples were taken from each plot, then the organic matter (OM) content, hydrogen potential (pH), electrical conductivity (EC) and nitrogen (N) content were determined. There were no differences in macrofaunal diversity for the altitudes studied, but there were differences according to the time of year (rainfall and low water). The maximum Shannon index was 2.2 (rainy season) and 1.1 (dry season). Physico-chemical parameters such as soil pH ranged from 7.8-8.15 in the lower altitude farms and for the higher altitude farms it was 6.38-6.65. Soil pH was highly negatively correlated with altitude. Nitrogen was positively correlated with organic matter. Faunal diversity is negatively correlated with season and the presence of microorganisms is influenced by the physico-chemical characteristics of the soil.
Start page
934
End page
950
Volume
38
Issue
4
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ciencia del suelo Ecología
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85133518812
Source
Revista de la Facultad de Agronomia
ISSN of the container
03787818
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus