There are few studies about the neighboring vegetation influence on the mites occurrence and distribution in monocultures. In the present study we analyzed the influence of two different areas (forest fragment and pasture) about mite fauna of a rubber tree culture. Three lines were established, one in the edge with the forest fragment, one in the interior of the rubber tree culture and one at the edge with the pasture area. In each line, five plants were selected and 10 leaves for each plant were analyzed. The total number of mites sampled was 159,011 of 19 species belonging to 12 families. All the mites, except Calacarus heveae Feres, which were direct counted on the leaflets, were mounted in microscopy slides using Hoyer medium. C. heveae was the most abundant and frequent species (99.1%), having its greatest abundance in the central line and its smallest in the line closest to the native forest fragment. Due to dominance of this species, the diversity and uniformity of the mite fauna were low. The predatory species presented higher abundance in the line close to the forest fragment, suggesting a possible dispersion from this vegetation to the culture. These data indicated that native neighboring vegetation have influenced the mite fauna of the monoculture and that its presence should be considered in pest management programs.
Acari; biodiversity; edge effect; pest management; biological control; semi-deciduous forest
