Soil oribatid mites and vegetation communities in the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest of Argentina

PABLO A. MARTINEZ; NATALIA A. FREDES; LÍA MONTTI; SERGIO A. CASERTANO

Curitiba

Congreso; XV International Colloquium on Soil Zoology; 2008

The aim of this work was to compare the species composition of the oribatid mite community in soils of areas with different vegetation communities in the Iguazú National Park and bordering areas, in Misiones province, northeastern Argentina. This area belongs to the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest. Soil samples were taken in four sites: under palm trees, dominated by heart of  palm (Euterpe edulis) trees and rosewood (Aspidosperma polineuron); under forest gaps dominated by bamboos (Chusquea ramosissima), and in two different secondary forests outside  the park. Around 80 species of oribatids were found. A similarity index (Jaccard) among zones  was calculated. Specific composition was compared with other areas in the region (Paraguay and south of Brazil) in order to make biogeographic inferences. The richest sites were secondary forests biotopes. Similarity was highest (0,5) among richest sites, whereas among the remainder  sites was lower than 0,35. At species level, the studied community has many species in common  with those of Sao Paulo State in Brazil (bibliographical data), and at genera level similitude is  higher. The distribution of oribatid mites species and genera seems determined by  biogeographic region´s boundaries (Atlantic Forest) more than by subregion´s ones (Upper  Paraná Atlantic Forest). The results could be useful in recognizing vegetation communities they  are associated with and there be applied in the development of sustainable management  strategies for the protected areas.