Recently, human activities have impacted biodiversity-rich forest in western Rwanda, creating a need to enhance restoration activities of degraded lands in the region. To evaluate the effects of reforestation activities on the community composition of soil-litter ants, research was conducted in Gishwati tropical montane forest, located in northern-western part of Rwanda. The ant fauna was studied in reforested lands dominated by regenerated native species and exotic tree species. Further, a primary forest made of native trees served as a reference. In each forest type, nine sampling points were used to sample ants. Ant specimens were collected using pitfalls, hand sampling and Winkler extractor. They were identified to subfamilies, genus and species levels using dichotomous keys, and also statistically analysed for species richness, diversity, evenness and community composition. We collected a total of 2,481 individuals from 5 subfamilies, 18 genera and 35 species. Higher abundance, diversity and species richness were found in soil-litter under natural primary and secondary forests dominated by regenerated native plant species compared to exotic tree forest. The ant community composition analysis indicated higher similarities in ant species sampled under primary native forest and secondary forest dominated by regenerated native species. Reforestation by regenerating native species may be given priority in restoration of degraded lands due to their importance in species richness and species diversity.

中文翻译：

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土壤垃圾蚂蚁（膜翅目：蚁科）群落对卢旺达西北部 Gishwati 热带山地森林重新造林地的反应

最近，人类活动影响了卢旺达西部生物多样性丰富的森林，因此需要加强该地区退化土地的恢复活动。为了评估重新造林活动对土壤垃圾蚂蚁群落组成的影响，在卢旺达西北部的 Gishwati 热带山地森林进行了研究。在以再生本地物种和外来树种为主的重新造林土地上研究了蚂蚁动物群。此外，由原生树木制成的原始森林作为参考。在每种森林类型中，使用九个采样点对蚂蚁进行采样。使用陷阱、手动采样和 Winkler 提取器收集蚂蚁标本。使用二分法将它们确定为亚科、属和物种水平，并统计分析物种丰富度、多样性、均匀度和社区组成。我们共收集了来自 5 个亚科、18 个属和 35 个种的 2,481 个个体。与外来乔木林相比，以再生原​​生植物为主的天然原生林和次生林下的土壤凋落物具有更高的丰度、多样性和物种丰富度。蚂蚁群落组成分析表明，在原生原生林和以再生原生物种为主的次生林下采样的蚂蚁物种具有较高的相似性。通过再生本地物种的再造林在退化土地的恢复中可能被优先考虑，因为它们在物种丰富度和物种多样性方面具有重要意义。与外来乔木林相比，以再生原​​生植物为主的天然原生林和次生林下的土壤凋落物具有多样性和物种丰富度。蚂蚁群落组成分析表明，在原生原生林和以再生原生物种为主的次生林下采样的蚂蚁物种具有较高的相似性。通过再生本地物种的再造林在退化土地的恢复中可能被优先考虑，因为它们在物种丰富度和物种多样性方面具有重要意义。与外来乔木林相比，以再生原​​生植物为主的天然原生林和次生林下的土壤凋落物具有多样性和物种丰富度。蚂蚁群落组成分析表明，在原生原生林和以再生原生物种为主的次生林下采样的蚂蚁物种具有较高的相似性。通过再生本地物种的再造林在退化土地的恢复中可能被优先考虑，因为它们在物种丰富度和物种多样性方面具有重要意义。