Population of Oribatei and Collembola in pastures for reclamation of degraded lands in a schist mine

Abstract

The objective of this was to study the population of Oribatei (Acari: Cryptostigmata) and Collembola (Insecta) in pastures for the reclamation of degraded lands in a schist which is located in São Mateus do Sul, PR, Brazil. The nine treatments were carried out with three types of forage plant combinations and with three different fertilizers. The plant combinations were (a) "pensacola" (Paspalum saurae) + "trevo-branco" (Trifolium repens) + "cornichão" (Lotus corniculatus); (b) "hermartria" (Hermarthria altissima) + "trevo-branco" + "cornichão"; (c) "aveia-preta" (Avena strigosa) + "ervilhaca-peluda" (Vicia villosa) + "trevo-vesiculoso" (Trifolium vesiculosum) (winter)/ "sorgo" (Sorghum bicolor) + "guandu" (Cajanus cajan) (summer), while the fertilizers: (a) mineral (NPK) with mulch; (b) mineral and organic (cattle manure) fertilizers without mulch; (c) mineral fertilizer without mulch. The results obtained 18 months after the establishment of the experiment show that the plant combination and the interaction of the plant combination plus fertilizer have no significant effect on the soil fauna. But as for the fertilizer, the populations of Collembola and Acari are larger in the treatment with mineral fertilizer plus mulch than in the others, while that of Oribatei does not significantly differ at 5% by Duncan test.