A comparative study between sampling methods for soil litter arthropods in conserved tree plots and banana crop plantations in Rwanda

The aim of this study was to compare trapping efficiency between Berlese-Tullgren funnels, pitfall traps and hand sorting sampling methods for soil litter arthropods. The study was carried out at the Arboretum of Ruhande and Rubona agricultural research station, in southern Rwanda. Biological indices indicated that pitfall traps collect a wide range of soil litter arthropod diversity, and chi-square test indicated the dependence between Berlese-Tullgren funnels and pitfall traps, and between pitfall traps and hand sorting. Z-test and univariate comparison indicated differences in means between tested sampling methods. The analysis of variance revealed that pitfall traps are less time consuming and the principal component analysis indicated that Formicidae is likely to be collected by pitfall traps and Berlese-Tullgren funnels, while Julidae, Porcellionidae and Geophilidae are likely to be collected by hand sorting. Research concluded that pitfall traps are more efficient than other studied sampling methods, but further studies should be conducted in other ecological zones, and different land uses in order to generate general information of these findings.