Volume 67, Issue 1, June 2023, Pages 119–128
Toure Bessimory1, Zro Bi Gohi Ferdinand2, Guei Arnauth Martinez3, and Kouassi N’Guessan Boris4
1 Département d’Agropédologie, Unité de Formation et de Recherche en Agroforestérie, Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé de Daloa, BP 150 Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire
2 Département d’Agropédologie, Unité de Formation et de Recherche en Agroforestérie, Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé de Daloa, BP 150 Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire
3 Department of Agropedology and GIS, Agroforestry Training and Research Unit, Jean Lorougnon Guédé University, BP 150 Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire
4 Department of Agropedology and GIS, Agroforestry Training and Research Unit, Jean Lorougnon Guédé University, BP 150 Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire
Original language: English
Copyright © 2023 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The ecosystem services provided by earthworm populations are poorly studied under perennial crop agrosystems in Côte d’Ivoire. The present study, carried out in the Daloa department, aims to identify groups of responses within earthworm populations to changes in edaphic parameters in three types of perennial crops. To this end, earthworm populations and physico-chemical parameters were sampled on three transects per plantation, in nine plantations divided between three facies: cocoa, oil palm and rubber. The stand of the nine plantations was found to be rich in 13 species of earthworms. Six species dominated the stand, of which four, namely Hyperiodrilus africanus, Stuhlmannia zielae, Dichogaster baeri and Gordiodrilus paski showed a preference for crops. Indeed, Hyperiodrilus africanus, Stuhlmannia zielae and Gordiodrilus paski were indicative of sandy soils under palm plantations; the detritivore Dichogaster baeri was associated with cocoa and rubber plantations where the soils are silty-sandy and have a high organic matter content. These results open up new avenues of research on the roles of earthworms in the functioning of soils in cocoa, palm and rubber plantations in the region. For example, it will be investigated whether earthworm populations can be used in the development of a holistic index similar to the general soil quality index to assess soil quality.
Author Keywords: Soil quality, earthworms, physico-chemical properties, preference, perennial crops.
Toure Bessimory1, Zro Bi Gohi Ferdinand2, Guei Arnauth Martinez3, and Kouassi N’Guessan Boris4
1 Département d’Agropédologie, Unité de Formation et de Recherche en Agroforestérie, Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé de Daloa, BP 150 Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire
2 Département d’Agropédologie, Unité de Formation et de Recherche en Agroforestérie, Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé de Daloa, BP 150 Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire
3 Department of Agropedology and GIS, Agroforestry Training and Research Unit, Jean Lorougnon Guédé University, BP 150 Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire
4 Department of Agropedology and GIS, Agroforestry Training and Research Unit, Jean Lorougnon Guédé University, BP 150 Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire
Original language: English
Copyright © 2023 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
The ecosystem services provided by earthworm populations are poorly studied under perennial crop agrosystems in Côte d’Ivoire. The present study, carried out in the Daloa department, aims to identify groups of responses within earthworm populations to changes in edaphic parameters in three types of perennial crops. To this end, earthworm populations and physico-chemical parameters were sampled on three transects per plantation, in nine plantations divided between three facies: cocoa, oil palm and rubber. The stand of the nine plantations was found to be rich in 13 species of earthworms. Six species dominated the stand, of which four, namely Hyperiodrilus africanus, Stuhlmannia zielae, Dichogaster baeri and Gordiodrilus paski showed a preference for crops. Indeed, Hyperiodrilus africanus, Stuhlmannia zielae and Gordiodrilus paski were indicative of sandy soils under palm plantations; the detritivore Dichogaster baeri was associated with cocoa and rubber plantations where the soils are silty-sandy and have a high organic matter content. These results open up new avenues of research on the roles of earthworms in the functioning of soils in cocoa, palm and rubber plantations in the region. For example, it will be investigated whether earthworm populations can be used in the development of a holistic index similar to the general soil quality index to assess soil quality.
Author Keywords: Soil quality, earthworms, physico-chemical properties, preference, perennial crops.
How to Cite this Article
Toure Bessimory, Zro Bi Gohi Ferdinand, Guei Arnauth Martinez, and Kouassi N’Guessan Boris, “Involvement of earthworm populations in indicating the physico-chemical state of soil under three types of perennial crops in the department of Daloa (Centre-West of Ivory Coast),” International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, vol. 67, no. 1, pp. 119–128, June 2023.
