Ground-Dwelling Arthropod Diversity and Composition During Regrowth of Amazonian Swidden-Fallow Land: A Case Study in Northeast Peruvian Amazon (Loreto, Peru)
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Document Type
Abstract
Publication Date
10-2-2019
Abstract
The primary method of rural agriculture in the Peruvian Amazon is swidden-fallow, or shifting cultivation agriculture, which is characterized by forest clearing and crop cultivation followed by a period of regrowth where ecological succession occurs on previous agricultural lands. Some studies have found this type of agriculture to decrease the biodiversity of tropical rainforest landscapes, while other evidence suggests that diversity levels are maintained along different ages of fallow during succession. In this study, I examined the diversity and composition (to the level of order) of litter and ground-dwelling arthropod communities of swidden-fallow agricultural land at various stages of regrowth and in old-growth forests near a community along the Iquitos-Nauta road (Loreto Region) of the Northeastern Peruvian Amazon. Sample sites fell into three land-use categories: chakras (sites of current agricultural use), purmas (fallows, or sites of regrowth), and old-growth forests (not disturbed for agriculture in recent memory). Using pitfall traps and the leaf litter samples, I collected a total of 4,909 individuals belonging to 21 orders. Shannon H diversity indices at the taxonomic level of order did not differ significantly across land cover types, nor depending on time since last disturbance. Pitfall samples from chakras had a significantly different composition than purmas and primary forests (Bray-Curtis Similarity Index), suggesting that chakras may host a unique community composition, although leaf litter samples did not suggest that compositions were significantly different based on land use-type. This data does not support the notion that swidden-fallow agriculture is harmful to arthropod biodiversity at this taxonomic level, in fact, it may even offer a unique habitat opportunity for arthropods. Abouelkheir, Mahmoud
Project Mentor
Dr. Laura Morales
Recommended Citation
Mohney, Claire, "Ground-Dwelling Arthropod Diversity and Composition During Regrowth of Amazonian Swidden-Fallow Land: A Case Study in Northeast Peruvian Amazon (Loreto, Peru)" (2019). Annual Student Research Poster Session. 198.
https://scholarship.depauw.edu/srfposters/198
Funding and Acknowledgements
Funding: The School for Field Studies