KEANEKARAGAMAN DAN BIOMASSA RAYAP TANAH DI DUA SISTEM BUDIDAYA KARET PADA LAHAN GAMBUT DI KAWASAN BUKIT BATU, RIAU

Abstract

Two different rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) cultivation systems can be encountered on peatland, namely the “rubber jungle system” and “rubber small-plantation system”, the names of which reflect the difference in management intensity. In this study, we investigated whether the difference in some physical characteristics between these systems has impact on subterranean termite diversity and biomass. Four rubber jungle plots and four rubber small-plantation plots located in the peatland of Bukit Batu area, Riau, were selected to test it. Termites were collected in each plot with the help of a 100 m-long transect line on which ten smaller sampling plots (100 cm x 100 cm) were laid at regular interval (10 m) during the period of July-September 2011. We found eight species, six genera, four subfamilies, and two families in this study. Species found only in the jungle plots were Capritermes mohri, Termes rostratus, and Bulbitermes constrictiformis, while species found only in the small-plantation plots are Coptotermes havilandi, and Parrhinotermes sp. Three termite species that could be encountered in both were Coptotermes curvignatus, Schedorhinotermes sarawakensis and Capritermes latignatus. The difference in species composition between the two types of rubber cultivation system was 55.46% (Bray-Curtis Dissimilarity Index). Termite biomass was small in both systems although the biomass in jungle system (0.38 + 0.3 gr/m2) was slightly larger than that in small-plantation system (0.14 + 0.15 gr/m2) (P>0.05).