Effect of accidental fire on soil mite density in a forest reserve in Nigeria

Mite populations in a forest reserve, where accidental fire swept through almost half of the total area covered by the forest, were enumerated at one, three, and six months after burning. Mite densities in both burnt and unburnt plots were extremely low immediately after burning. Six months after burning, the density of juvenile cryptostigmatid mites were higher in the burnt area than the unburnt area and several mite genera had recovered from the deleterious effect of burning, but overall mite densities were still lower in the burnt than the unburnt area. Some of the typical dominant mite genera of the tropical rainforest, namely Haplozetes sp., Scheloribates sp., Nothrus sp. and Carabodes sp. did not recover from the effect of burning within six months. The selective influence of burning on mite genera/families, as well as the different rates of recovery observed in this study, were attributed to differences in feeding requirements, phenological patterns and life history tactics of the mites. Juvenile cryptostigmatid mites were more in the burnt than unburnt plots suggesting that reproductive activities of this group increased after burning.