04090naa a2200169 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001910000200006024501590008026000090023952032580024870000260350670000260353270000220355870000190358077303210359913148422008-09-16       2008    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d1 aMOÇO, M. K. S.  aMesofauna and macrofauna communities and its relationship with the soil and litter attributes in cocoa agroforestry systems in the south of Bahia, Brazil.  c2008  aSoil fauna are an important component of sustainability of agricultural systems, due to their functional role in some soil processes. Soil organisms should vary according to climate, soil attributes, vegetation and to the cultivation systems adopted. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of soil and litter attributes on mesofauna and macrofauna communities in cocoa agroforestry systems in the south of Bahia, Brazil. Soil and litter samples were collected on September 2003, February 2004 and August 2004 in five cacao agroforestry systems: cacao renewed under Erythrina sp. (Erythrina poeppigiana) (CRE); cacao renewed under natural forest (Cabruca - CRF); an old cacao system under Erythrina sp. (OCE); an old cacao system under a natural forest system (Cabruca - OCF) and a cacao germoplasm collection area (CGC). As a reference soil and litter under a natural forest (NF) was included. Organisms were collected with a Berlese?Tullgren apparatus. To evaluate the relationship between soil fauna?s groups and the soil and litter attributes redundancy analysis (RDA) and Pearson correlation coefficients were used. The density in soil ranged from 492 (CGC) to 928 individuals m-2 (CRF), and in litter of 1388 (NF) to 2729 individuals m-2 (CRF). The soil richness ranged from 4,3 (CGC) to 9,1 groups (CRF), and in litter from 10,3 (OCF) to 14,3 groups (CRF). The population with larger faunal density included Collembola and Formicidae. Other identified groups in cocoa agroforestry systems were Diplopoda, Coleoptera (larvae and adult), Pseudoscorpionida, Isopoda, Diptera (larvae), Pauropoda, Symphyla, Psocoptera, Thysanoptera, Diplura, Chilopoda, Oligochaeta, Protura and Gastropoda. In soil, both the RDA and the Pearson correlation showed a strong and positive correlation between the carbon content with Diplopoda (r = 0,730), Isopoda (r = 0,860) and Pseudoscorpionida (r = 0,830); between the nitrogen content with Formicidae (r = 0,894), Coleoptera (r = 0,911), Psocoptera (r = 0,818) and Diplura (r = 0,895); between the clay content with adult Coleoptera (r = 0,733), Isopoda (r = 0,873) and Pseudoscorpionida (r = 0,744) and, in contrast, a negative correlation between the soil bulk density and adult Coleoptera (r = - 0,760). In litter, the RDA has indicated that Oligochaeta correlated with polyphenols content, Coleoptera larvae with carbon content, and both the RDA and the Pearson correlation showed that the Diptera larvae is influenced by nitrogen content (r = 0,724) and Pseudoscorpionida by lignin content (r = 0,767). The results showed that some fauna?s groups were affected significantly by soil and litter attributes. The attributes most closely related to the fauna?s groups were nitrogen and carbon content from soil and litter (energy source). The negative relationship between the soil bulk density and soil fauna could be due to the effects of the compaction of soil that affect the soil fauna mobility and activity. The lignin and polyphenols content affect the litter decomposition rate and hence the soil fauna activity. In conclusions, soil and litter attributes in cocoa agroforestry systems influence the composition of soil fauna community and, consequently, the ecosystem stability and functioning1 aGAMA-RODRIGUES, E. F.1 aGAMA-RODRIGUES, A. C.1 aMACHADO, R. C. R.1 aBALIGAR, V. C.  tIn: INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM ON SOIL ZOOLOGY, 15; INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM ON APTERYGOTA, 12., 2008, Curitiba. Biodiversity, conservation and sustainabele management of soil animal: abstracts. Colombo: Embrapa Florestas. Editors: George Gardner Brown; Klaus Dieter Sautter; Renato Marques; Amarildo Pasini. 1 CD-ROM.