Abundance of Soil Acari in Natural Forest Plantation

摘要

The investigation on abundance of soil Acari in natural forest plantation were carried out at Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru during the month of October and December of 2014 and January and October of 2015.The samples (litter and soil) were collected from Tectona grandis, Terminalia arjuna, Albizia odoratissima, Artocarpus heterophyllus using the circular core sampler measuring 12 cm diameter and 10 cm height. The quantity of litter and soil sample collected was 150 g and 400 g, respectively. The results revealed that soil Acari constitute major soil invertebrates and occupied in organic matter rich forest plantations. Slight variation in the abundance may be due to quality of the leaf litter, shade provided by the tree species, moisture content of the litter and soil and periodical accumulation of organic litter over a period of time.