Influência da heterogeneidade do habitat e da umidade sobre a diversidade de collembola epiedáficos na transição caatinga cerrado durante a estação seca

Abstract

Collembola are microarthropods widely distributed in terrestrial ecosystems, playing key roles in maintaining soil quality and dynamics. This study aimed to investigate the influence of habitat heterogeneity and constant moisture on the diversity of epiedaphic Collembola during the dry season in a transitional zone between the Caatinga and Cerrado biomes, located in the municipality of Pedro II, Piauí, Brazil. Sampling was carried out in two areas with different microenvironmental conditions (humid and dry), using pitfall traps, along with the measurement of environmental variables such as soil temperature and moisture, pH, vegetation cover, and litter height. A total of 794 individuals were collected, distributed across 12 species belonging to eight genera, with a predominance of the genus Seira, especially Seira sp.1, in the dry area. The humid area showed higher species richness, diversity, and evenness, indicating that greater moisture and vegetation density favour the complexity of soil fauna. Bray-Curtis and Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) indicated that soil temperature, pH, and vegetation cover were the main structuring factors of the community. These findings highlight the importance of humid areas as ecological refuges for soil fauna during prolonged droughts and contribute to the understanding of edaphic biodiversity in the semi-arid region of Piauí.