Abstract
The growing demand for wood is being supplied through homogeneous forest plantations. However, large tracts of land cultivated with a single species are susceptible to insect pest attacks. Termites are one such insect pest, capable of destroying the root system of plants and harming their developments. The objective of the present study was to know the diversity of subterranean termites present in Eucalyptus urograndis (Eucalyptus urophylla S.T. Blake x Eucalyptus grandis Hill ex Maiden: Myrtaceae), Tectona grandis L.f.: (Lamiaceae) and Bertholletia excelsa Humb. & Bonpl. (Lecythidaceae) and Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. ex A. Juss.) Müll.Arg. (Euphorbiaceae) consortium, in Alta Floresta - MT state, and to verify the spatial distribution of termites in these locations and the influence of edaphic conditions on the diversity of termites in these areas. The survey used traps of corrugated cardboard, which were removed after 30 days and their individuals counted and identified. The soil was collected from the sampled plantations to test for any correlation that may exist between the edaphic variables and the species found. A total of 14,61 individual termites were collected, representing five termite species, the most commonly occurring species was Heterotermes tenuis (Hagen) (12,802 specimens). The spatial distribution of all species was aggregated. Most of the attacked traps were class 2 (between 101 and 500 termites collected), and correlation showed significance only between the factor clay x H. tenuis. The diversity of termites in the plantations is composed of five species, the aggregate distribution indicates preference for the most favorable areas of the environment and higher occurrence of H. tenuis in clay soils.
Keywords:
Cellulosic trap; Heterotermes tenuis; Rhinotermitidae; Social insects