Abstract
Edaphic macroinvertebrates constitute an important component of soil belowground biodiversity and play a significant role in soil biological functioning and sustained productivity. As these fauna readily respond to biotic and abiotic perturbations in soil profiles, different land-use systems have different community assemblages of macroinvertebrates. This study was conducted to determine the impact of different land-use types viz. natural (grassland, forest/silviculture, barren) and agricultural (lemon, guava, lychee orchards, rice-wheat crop) lands on soil macroinvertebrate fauna. Random sampling was done in winter 2015 and summer 2016 using monoliths and pitfall traps. Results revealed that land-used types exert a differential impact on the diversity and population abundance of macrofaunal communities. Highest indices of macroinvertebrate diversity, richness and evenness were exhibited by Lychee (2.39, 12.00 and 1.00, respectively) among cultivated and grassland (2.44, 13.00 and 0.95, respectively) among natural land-use types. Rice-wheat crops and barren lands exhibited minimum values. Ants (Formicidae) (10-40%), beetles (Carabidae and Staphylinidae) (14-28%), spiders (Araneae) (5-18%) and earthworms (Lumbricidae) (2-20%) were the most abundant and more active, hence, were more captured in pitfall traps in summer season. Termites (isopteran) and earthworms were more captured in monoliths. By and large, macroinvertebrate fauna was lower in the soils studied as compared to other tropical and subtropical regions reported elsewhere. Therefore, keeping in view the key role of soil invertebrates in soil sustainability, it is recommended to mitigate the deleterious effects of land-management practices on these important soil biotic components.