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Vol. 44 No. 4, 2005
Abundance of Soil Mites (Arachnida: Acari) in a Natural Soil
of Central Argentina
José
Camilo Bedano1,*, Mario Pablo Cantú1, and Marcelo
Edmundo Doucet2
1Departamento
de Geología, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, X 5804 BYA Río Cuarto,
Córdoba, Argentina
2Centro de Zoología Aplicada, Universidad Nacional de
Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
José
Camilo Bedano, Mario Pablo Cantú, and Marcelo Edmundo Doucet (2005)
Despite the potential ecological importance of mites (Acari) in
uncultivated soils adjacent to cultivated plots, basic information on
the occurrence of these soil microarthropods in such sites is scarce,
especially in South American agroecosystems. In this paper, we describe
the mite fauna in an uncultivated soil adjacent to crop fields in
central Argentina. Densities of major mite taxa were examined in soil
of an undisturbed and uncultivated plot in the La Colacha Basin,
Argentina, at bimonthly intervals over 2 yrs. Oribatida, Mesostigmata,
and Astigmata mean abundances were rather low compared with values
obtained in similar environments, while Prostigmata density was similar
to those recorded in other studies. The Oribatida and Mesostigmata were
the most-abundant taxa, followed by the Prostigmata and Astigmata.
Temporal variations in soil mite density were consistent with the
general trend of the greatest mite abundance occurring in spring and
summer and the lowest in winter. These findings are compared with the
results from other studies, and their ecological implications are
discussed. This study provides important information on soil mite
populations in natural soils and indicates that such natural soil
refuges adjacent to cultivated soils can provide baseline data for
studies of bioindicators of soil quality.
Key words: Argentina,
Agroecosystems, Natural soil, Acari, Mites.
*Correspondence: E-mail: jbedano@exa.unrc.edu.ar
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