Seasonal abundance of soil-surface arthropods in relation to some meteorological and edaphic variables of the grassland and tree-planted areas in a tropical semi-arid savanna

Seasonality of relative population abundance in different groups of soil-surface arthropods was investigated monthly by pit-fall traps during a 2-year period in the grassland and tree-planted areas of a tropical semi-arid savanna at Warangal (south India). Densities of most groups were lowest during summer and highest during the rainy season. They were less abundant during winter. Arthropods were recorded in higher numbers in tree-planted compared to grassland areas. Certain arthropods that were found only during part of the year were recorded for a longer period in the tree-planted area. Formicidae,Monomorium indicum Forel,Crematogaster sp. andPachycondyla? tesserinoda (Emery), and Coleoptera,Pachycera sp. reached maximum densities in the rainy season and minimum numbers during winter and summer in the grassland area. However, these species had lower densities during the rainy season and reached maximum densities during winter and summer in the tree-planted area. The seasonal abundance of arthropods showed significant linear correlations with different abiotic environmental variables such as rainfall, soil moisture, organic matter, soil and air temperatures, soil pH, relative humidity at the soil surface, and potassium and phosphorus of surface soil. Soil moisture and rainfall were generally the strongest correlates with densities, particularly in the grassland area.