Composición trófica de la macrofauna edáfica en sistemas ganaderos en el Corredor Seco de Nicaragua.

Objective: To characterize the trophic composition of soil macrofauna in two animal husbandry systems in four municipalities located in the Dry Corridor of Nicaragua. Materials and Methods: The study area comprised the municipalities Rivas, Belén, La Conquista and Diriamba, all located in the Dry Corridor of Nicaragua. In each municipality four farms were evaluated: two with conventional animal husbandry systems and two with silvopastoral systems. Rivas and Belén, where there was only one farm of each system, were excepted. The study lasted eight months and the sample collection of the edaphic macofauna was carried out every 60 days. The collected specimens were identified to the taxonomic category of families. The biological activity was determined through the grouping into the categories soil engineers, predators, herbivores and detritivores. Results: The family composition was different between systems, with higher richness in the silvopastoral system, where six classes, 15 orders and 33 families were found. A total of 11 593 macrofauna individuals were recorded in the silvopastoral system, higher value than the conventional one, where 3 062 were found. The difference between systems was marked by the number of individuals found in the Formicidae and Termitidae families (4 150 and 2 126 individuals/m², respectively), which represented 54% of the total individuals present in the silvopastoral systems. Conclusions: The highest family richness and quantity of individuals were obtained in the silvopastoral system, which proves its importance in animal husbandry exploitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]