Edaphic mesofauna of land use systems in two soils in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul

Biological diversity is considered an important indicator of soil quality, being useful for the evaluation of ecosystems. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to evaluate the edaphic mesofauna of land use systems on Quartz-sand Neosol and Dystrophic Oxisoil in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, located at ‘Lagoa Grande’ settlement, district of Itahum and at ‘Embrapa’ Western Agribusiness, respectively, both in the municipality of Dourados. At the ‘Lagoa Grande’ settlement, six systems of land use were evaluated: three agroforestry systems (SAF 1, 2 and 3), Brachiaria decumbens Stapf. pasture, conventional tillage system (CTS), and area with scrap of Native Cerrado Biome. At ‘Embrapa’, four systems were assessed: agroforestry system (SAF), Brachiaria decumbens Stapf. pasture, conventional tillage system (CTS), and scrap of native vegetation (forest). Soil samples were collected at four random replicates in 0-0 – 0.05 m depth. Mites and springtails were identified at family level to determine the Shannon-Weaner (H’) diversity, Simpson (Is) diversity, and Pielou (J’) equitability indexes. SAF 1 and 3, on Quartz-sand Neosol, were more diverse and, therefore, more sustainable regarding soil biological quality, featuring lower sustainability as pasture; on Distrofic Oxisoil, the conventional tillage system proved to be more sustainable, with SAF being the system with the lowest diversity of edaphic mesofauna. SAF grants more biological sustainability to Quartz-sand Neosol than to Dystrophic Oxisoil.