Edaphic Beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera) in Three Different Land Use Systems in the Eastern Amazon

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate edaphic beetles’ abundance, diversity indexes and composition dependence in different land-use systems (LUS) under tropical climate conditions.   Method: We surveyed three different LUS such as primary forest fragment (FFP), agroforestry system (SAF) and conventional agricultural cultivation (CAC) in Eastern Amazon. The edaphic beetles were collected using pitfall traps, identified to the family taxonomic level and classified into trophic guilds (carnivore, detritivore, fungivore, and/or herbivore).   Results and conclusion: All LUS showed strong dominance by Scarabaeidae and Staphylinidae families. The edaphic beetles community is influenced by the LUS, since the highest rates of abundance, average richness, diversity and evenness were found in the CAC. Edaphic beetles’ composition is dependent to natural vegetation, which accumulated richness is the greatest parameter related to natural vegetation.   Research implications: No-tillage cultivation, with homogeneous vegetation formed by decayed plant material from the last culture cycle, can improve and preserve beetles’ detritivore trophic guild. Due to the edaphic beetles’ composition dependence to natural vegetation, is important to preserve forest fragments near altered landscapes to ensure better conditions for this organism’s reestablishment.   Originality/value: Edaphic beetles have rarely been studied under different LUS with tropical conditions, particularly in the Eastern Amazon. Comprising these organisms distribution pattern after land-use changes is essential for ecological conservation implications.