Soil macrofauna diversity in Himalayan mountain agroecosystems has received negligible attention despite people’s dependence on soil fertility that determines crop yield for their sustenance. This study was carried out with the objective to determine differences in soil macrofauna taxonomic groups and abundance with soil depth (0–30 cm) in irrigated and non-irrigated wheat and rice crops of two dominant Himalayan mountain agroecosystems. At both the sites, a total of 11 macrofauna groups and 23 families were recorded. Macrofauna population across both crop seasons for non-irrigated fields was significantly greater (P < 0.05) than in irrigated fields. Macrofauna population significantly differed (P < 0.001) with soil depth and significantly declined with increasing soil depth (P < 0.001). The top soil (0–10 cm depth) contributed over 80% of the total macrofauna population. Macrofauna diversity in non-irrigated fields (H′ = 2.10) was greater than in irrigated fields (H′ = 1.86), but β diversity was greater in irrigated fields (1.67 vs 1.76). The two agroecosystem types significantly differed (P < 0.05) with soil depth and crop season. On the basis of presence or absence, the macrofauna groups were categorised as (i) present in soil year-round but exhibiting high density during warm and wet rainy season and (ii) present in soil only during the warm and wet rainy season. The non-irrigated fields had greater abundance of Coleoptera, Dermaptera, Hemiptera and Isoptera than the irrigated fields. This study highlights that the Himalayan mountain crop fields host a rather diverse and abundant macro-invertebrate community that should be efficiently used to promote soil fertility.

中文翻译：

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印度喜马拉雅农业生态系统的土壤大型动物多样性和种群动态

尽管人们依赖土壤肥力来决定作物产量，但喜马拉雅山区农业生态系统中的土壤大型动物多样性却很少受到关注。进行这项研究的目的是确定两种主要喜马拉雅山区农业生态系统的灌溉和非灌溉小麦和水稻作物的土壤大型动物分类群和丰度随土壤深度（0-30 厘米）的差异。在这两个地点，总共记录了 11 个大型动物群和 23 个家庭。非灌溉田两个作物季节的大型动物种群数量显着高于灌溉田（P < 0.05）。大型动物种群随土壤深度显着不同（P < 0.001），随着土壤深度的增加而显着下降（P < 0.001）。表层土壤（0-10 厘米深度）占大型动物群总数的 80% 以上。非灌溉田的大型动物多样性（H' = 2.10）大于灌溉田（H' = 1.86），但灌溉田的β多样性更大（1.67 vs 1.76）。两种农业生态系统类型在土壤深度和作物季节方面存在显着差异（P < 0.05）。根据存在与否，大型动物群被分类为（i）全年存在于土壤中，但在温暖和潮湿的雨季中表现出高密度，以及（ii）仅在温暖和潮湿的雨季中存在于土壤中。与灌溉田相比，非灌溉田的鞘翅目、皮翅目、半翅目和等翅目昆虫的丰度更高。