Evaluation of the edaphic macrofauna in a silvopastoral system in Cauto Valley, Cuba

Main Article Content

Ana M. Vega
Rafael Segundo Herrera
G. A. Rodr?guez
S. S?nchez
L. Lamela
A. A. Santana

Abstract

The performance of the edaphic macrofauna was evaluated in a Leucaena leucocephala-Cynodon nlemfuensis silvopastoral system at the Cattle Breeding Enterprise ?Manuel Fajardo?, located in the municipality of Jiguan?, Granma province. An area of 6.71 ha distributed in six paddocks was used in a completely randomized design with six replications in a carbonated brown soil. The study was conducted in the litter strata, 0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm depth. The taxonomical composition, density and biomass of the macrofauna organisms were determined. The taxonomic composition consisted of 216 individuals, represented by three types, five classes and seven orders. From them, the most represented was the class Insecta. In the density of individuals there were differences (P < 0.05), from the litter of 8.08 individuals/m2 to 1.83 individuals/m2, at the 20-30 cm depth. For the biomass, there were differences (P < 0.05) and varied from 0.16 to 0.03 g/m2 for the litter at 20-30 cm, respectively. Also, in total density there was growth, following tree incorporation (6.07 ind./m2) and after total biomass grew by 0.18 g/m2, thus proportional abundance increased with the appearance of Hymenopterous, Diplopodous and Lepidopterous. The silvopastoral system improved the macrofauna with advantages for their exploitation as time went by.
Key words: edaphic macrofauna, silvopastoral system, Leucaena, star grass

Article Details

How to Cite
Vega, A. M., Herrera, R. S., Rodr?guez, G. A., S?nchez, S., Lamela, L., & Santana, A. A. (2014). Evaluation of the edaphic macrofauna in a silvopastoral system in Cauto Valley, Cuba. Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science, 48(2). Retrieved from https://cjascience.com/index.php/CJAS/article/view/480
Section
Pasture Science and other Crops

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 3 > >>