Seasonal and habitat-specific differences in soil insect abundance from organic crops and natural forest at the Ang Khang royal agricultural station, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Soil organisms play an integral role in decomposition and nutrient cycling, but pesticides and artificial irrigation from agriculture can kill soil organisms and thereby compromise the vital ecosystem services that they provide. Organic farming practices are known to alleviate the native effect of agriculture on soil insects. Soil insect abundance was examined in a variety of organic farms and in natural forest in northern Thailand using pitfall traps. More than 7,000 insects were collected and sorted to order. Soil insect abundance varied significantly with season, treatment, and agricultural crop. Insects were most abundant in Asian pear (AP), hill evergreen forest (HF), Chinese teas (CT), strawberries (ST), Asian maple trees (MT) and vegetables for human consumption (VH). Collembola were most abundant in most treatments, and ants were disproportionately common in samples from treatments with trees. There were more insects in the wet seasons than in the dry season in all treatments. Collembola, Orthoptera, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera differed significantly among different treatments, but Diptera did not.

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