Comparison of Soil Fauna (Oribatids and Enchytraeids)Between Conventional and Organic (Tillage and No-Tillage Practices) Farming Crop Fields in Japan

摘要

The major soil animal groups, enchytraeid worms and oribatid mites, were compared in the abundance and diversity between conventional fields (CT) and organic farming fields with tillage (OT) or no-tillage (ON) practices. The values of abundance, species richness, diversity and evenness were significantly larger in OT and ON than in CT, indicating that the abundance and diversity in organic farming fields were greater than those in conventional farming. The community structure of enchytraeid genera was different between OT and ON. Enchytraeus was the most abundant in OT, while Fridericia in ON. The abundance of oribatids in OT was similar to that in ON, while the species richness and diversity in the former were smaller. These results suggested that no-tillage practice under organic management might contribute to the improvement in quality of soil mesofauna.