Edaphic fauna and soil properties under different managements in areas impacted by natural disaster in a mountainous region

ABSTRACT Soil invertebrate fauna plays a major role in several environmental processes, and its absence can negatively impact ecosystem health. This study aimed to assess the recovery of epigeal and edaphic invertebrate faunal communities following an environmental disaster, with landslides, mudflow, and river floods, in sites under different management systems, the effects of cover crops on invertebrate fauna, and their relationship with soil physical and chemical properties in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. The following sites were evaluated: CF, a site under conventional farming without any record of natural hazard events; LS, a site impacted by an intense landslide event that left the area buried by mudflow; RO1, a site affected by river overflow and treated with NPK fertilizer and poultry litter; RO2, a site affected by river overflow and subjected to liming and heavy fertilization with NPK; and RO3, a site affected by a less intense river overflow and subjected to fertilization with poultry litter and NPK fertilizer. At each site, epigeal and edaphic fauna were sampled using pitfall traps and a monolith sampler, respectively. Physical (soil temperature, moisture, aggregate stability, and density) and chemical (pH in water, Ca2+, Mg2+, Al3+, K+, P, cation-exchange capacity, and total organic carbon) properties were determined in the 0.00-0.05 and 0.00-0.10 m layers. The predominant epigeal faunal groups were Entomobryomorpha, Poduromorpha, Diptera, and Coleoptera; and the predominant edaphic faunal groups, Coleoptera and Oligochaeta. There was a positive correlation between Coleoptera larvae, Hymenoptera, and species richness with total organic carbon. Coleoptera larvae were positively associated with biogenic aggregate stability, whereas Coleoptera was positively associated with physicogenic aggregate stability. Oligochaeta showed a positive correlation with soil moisture. Cover crops favored the development of epigeal and edaphic faunal groups that enhance soil properties through organic matter fragmentation and decomposition, and structural engineering. The strong correlation between soil chemical, physical, and biological properties demonstrate the importance of monitoring these components to assess the recovery of disaster-affected areas.