Fauna invertebrada: aérea, do solo e serapilheira, em áreas de Eucalyptus sp e Mata Atlântica, em Maceió, Alagoas

Abstract

The urban vegetable parks serve as a source of food, shelter, and reproduction place for the invertebrate organisms that decompose the litter into nutrients for the plants. However, changes in these natural environments with the introduction of the exotic species Eucalyptus sp. may impact soil invertebrate fauna. Thus, the objective of the research was to evaluate the invertebrate fauna: aerial, soil, and litter in the areas of Eucalyptus sp. and a fragment of the Atlantic Forest, in Parque do Horto, in Maceió, Alagoas. Parque do Horto is a Permanent Preservation Area (APP), with 55 ha of Atlantic Forest, open to public visitation, and in the place, there are also stretches with the presence of the exotic species Eucalyptus sp. Ten sampling points were selected in each Eucalyptus sp. and Atlantic Forest fragment to evaluate aerial, soil, and litter macrofauna. Soil macrofauna was quantified using a Provid trap containing four 2x2 cm holes and installed in the soil at 0 to 10 cm depth. The aerial macrofauna was sampled using Provid traps with three 5x5 cm openings, installed in the treetops, considering the height of 1.5 m from the ground. The two trap models were installed in the field for 96 h and a solution of 95% water and 5% detergent was added to capture the organisms and 15 drops of formaldehyde. Subsequently, the traps were taken to the laboratory for washing and identification of invertebrate organisms with a length of≥ 2 mm. Litter collections were also made with the aid of an iron frame measuring 0.5 m x 0.5 m and sorted, where the invertebrate organisms present in the material were separated at the taxonomic group level. A quantitative evaluation was carried out through the analysis of abundance (number of individuals) and richness (variety of taxonomic groups) and a qualitative evaluation where ecological indices of Shannon diversity (H) and Pielou uniformity (e) were applied. The data on invertebrate organisms from the aerial, soil, and litter macrofauna were analyzed using descriptive statistics with the help of Office Excel 2019 Software. The results showed that the abundance of aerial and soil macrofauna in the Atlantic Forest area is higher than in the Eucalyptus sp. area; The richness of aerial macrofauna is similar between the Atlantic Forest and Eucalyptus sp. areas. and for soil macrofauna the richness is higher in the Atlantic Forest environment; The taxonomic groups of aerial and soil macrofauna (Coleoptera, Diptera, and Hymenoptera) are the most dominant, regardless of the environments, as evidenced by the low values of the Diversity and Uniformity indices; The greatest richness of taxonomic groups is found in the Atlantic Forest fragment; The distribution of macrofauna organisms present in the litter is more uniform in the Atlantic Forest fragment; The Hymenoptera group, represented mainly by ants, is the most abundant in the litter, regardless of the area studied, as evidenced by the ecological indices of diversity and uniformity.