Soil macrofauna of two successional evergreen cloud forest stages from the cerro Huitepec nature reserve, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, México
The soil macrofauna composition was studied in two successional evergreen cloud forest stages. One of them had an intensive forestal usage 17 years ago; and it has a canopy height <8m and densities from 900 to 1200 trees >5cm DBH. The other one was a non managed area, with a canopy of 30-35m and densities ranging from 1600 to 1800 trees >5cm DBH. The Chilopoda, Oligochaeta and Diplopoda groups constituted 70% of the total macrofauna from the two environments. The Endogeic Oligochaeta was the most abundant group in both types of forest. Oligochaeta were 54% of total decomposers in the mature forest and their density was significantly greater than the immature forest. The Oligochaeta density decrease was related with a lower canopy closure, increase in soil temperature and decreased level of soil humidity. This one-year sampling suggests that there are few negative impacts on the soil macrofauna associated with forest use for charcoal production 17 years ago.
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
ASOCIACIÓN INTERCIENCIA
2006
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| Online Access: | http://ve.scielo.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0378-18442006000800012 |
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