The aim of the present research was to compare the communities of oribatid mites (Oribatida) on the plantations of chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliott) and blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.) as well as to define the effect of mi-croirrigation on those Acari. The experiment was performed in degraded Phaeozems formed from sand, on shallow-deposited sand in Kruszyn Krajeński in the vicinity of Bydgoszcz. The soil reaction was slightly acid or acid and the differences in the acidity between chokeberry and blackcurrant were inconsiderable. The abundance of oribatid mites on chokeberry and blackcurrant plantations ranged from 3110 to 5290 individuals • m-2 and it was much higher, as compared with the neighbouring set-aside. The density of Oribatida on blackcurrant plantation was clearly higher than in chokeberry; however there was recorded no significant effect of the type of irrigation on the density. In total on both plantations there were reported 31 species of oribatid mites; mean species number s in blackcurrant was higher than in chokeberry. The dominance structure of oribatid mites on the chokeberry plantation was more even than in blackcurrant and in Tectocepheus velatus communities dominated mostly. The species preferred the blackcurrant plantation and irrigation stimulated its abundance. Chamobates schutzii, an ...
The study was conducted in the experimental field of the Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice, on strawberry plantations mulched with wood chips and in a nearby patch of grass. Seasonal dynamics (in spring, summer, and autumn) of the occurrence of soil mites (Acari), especially of oribatid mites (Oribatida), were studied on 6 occasions during the seasons in 2011-2012.Already in the first season of the study, high numbers of mites - 26.91 thousand indiv. • m-2, were found in the mulched soil of the strawberry plantations. Among these arachnids, the predominant group were oribatid mites (98.2%). The density of mites, especially of the Oribatida, in the wood chips during the vegetative period was more uniform than in the grass patch. The mulch used in the experiment provided favourable environmental conditions for the development of most Oribatida species.There were 12 species of Oribatida found on the strawberry plantations, and 9 in the nearby grass patch. The number of species in the grass-covered soil ranged from 5 to 8 in the successive seasons. In the wood chips, by comparison, there were 7 taxa at the beginning of the study, and at the end of the cycle the number increased to 11. The differences ...
