Feeding activity of soil fauna in production systems under cover crop straws

ABSTRACT To preserve a desirable level of soil quality, especially taking into consideration its health and sustainability, is not an easy task, due to the numerous factors that influence it. This study aimed to measure the feeding activity of soil fauna in production systems under cover crop straws sampled at the depth of 0-8.0 cm. A randomized blocks design, with four replicates and eight treatments, was used, corresponding to soybean cultivation under the following cover crop straws: maize monoculture; maize intercropped with Urochloa ruziziensis; U. ruziziensis monoculture; sorghum intercropped with U. ruziziensis; sorghum monoculture; sunflower intercropped with U. ruziziensis; mix (millet + Crotalaria spectabilis + U. ruziziensis); and a fallow treatment. At the depth of 1.0 cm, there was a variation of 63.59-37.06 % for consumption among the treatments, with the highest consumption for the mix, if compared to the fallow treatment. At the depth of 2.0-7.0 cm, the consumption did not vary among the treatments. For the depth of 8.0 cm, the fallow treatment presented the highest consumption (45.76 %; p < 0.05), when compared to sunflower intercropped with U. ruziziensis (20.51 %), sorghum (20.58 %) and sorghum intercropped with U. ruziziensis (18.96 %).