Effects of different cultivation facilities on the diversity of soil meso-and micro-fauna

Organic agriculture, which has become increasingly popular in recent years and is widely used in greenhouse facilities, is generally believed to be more conducive to agro-ecosystems than conventional agriculture. The soil fauna is a significant biological indicator of the soil environment. An understanding of the differences in the community structure and diversity of the soil fauna under different facility management regimens is necessary. However, little is known about the effects of both organic and conventional agricultural systems on the diversity of soil meso-and micro-fauna. To investigate the effects of organic facility cultivation on the diversity and community structure of soil meso-and micro-fauna, the fauna of soils under 6 treatments (organic and conventional cropping patterns of leafy and solanaceous vegetables in greenhouse, organic and conventional cropping patterns in open air) in the Shunyi District of Beijing in June 2016 was studied. Fauna from the 0-15 cm soil layer was extracted by the modified Tullgren method. In total, there were 3 869 soil meso-and micro-fauna in the 18 sample plots, belonging to 30 families, 14 orders 14, 2 taxa (suborders). The results were as follows:1) the orders such as Actinedida, Oribatida, and Onychiuridae were in the largest quantities and were the most widely distributed in the study area, where Acarina, Rhabditidae, and Collembola constituted the main taxa of the soil meso-and micro-fauna. 2) In the open air, the numbers of soil meso-and micro-fauna in the 5-10 cm and 10-15 cm layers under organic cultivation were higher than those under conventional cultivation. In the greenhouse, the numbers of soil meso-and micro-fauna in the 0-5 cm and 5-10 cm layers under organic cultivation were significantly lower than those under conventional cultivation. 3) Under organic cultivation, the numbers of soil meso-and micro-fauna in the 0-5 cm and 10-15 cm layers in the greenhouse were significantly lower than those in the open air, and the Menhinick's abundance index of soil meso-and micro-fauna in the 10-15 cm layer in the greenhouse was higher than that in conventional cultivation. Under conventional cultivation, the number of soil meso-and micro-fauna in the 5-10 cm layer in the greenhouse was significantly higher than that in the open air. The Shannon-Weiner diversity index of soil meso-and micro-fauna in the 0-5 cm layer was higher in the greenhouse than in the open air under both organic and conventional cultivation. 4) Under organic cultivation, the number of soil meso-and micro-fauna in the 10-15 cm layer was lower than that under conventional cultivation, and the Pielou's evenness indices of soil meso-and micro-fauna in the 0-5 cm layer were higher than those under conventional cultivation when leafy vegetables were cultivated. Under the conventional cultivation of leafy vegetables, there were more meso-and micro-fauna in the 0-5 cm and 5-10 cm soil layers than in those of solanaceous vegetable cultivation. Therefore, organic cultivation and management in the greenhouse, and the effective use of crop rotation system can facilitate the restoration of soil fauna communities.