Diversity of the edaphic fauna of soils cultivated with coffee in southern Colombia

The edaphic fauna is a biological indicator of soil fertility. Knowing its diversity allows establishing functional relationships with it and making decisions to establish conservation practices. The objective of this work was to evaluate the richness (Ri), relative abundance (AR), and diversity of the edaphic fauna in four municipalities of the department of Nariño, La Union, Sandona, Consaca y La Florida. The samplings were carried out at three altitudes, which were considered as replicates. In secondary forests and coffee crops, Ri and AR were recorded in mulch, between 10 and 20 cm, and between 20 and 30 cm deep. In Consacá, were registered 19,836 individuals of 24 orders, of which 37.6% corresponded to forest and 62.4% to coffee. Florida showed 13,980 individuals from 16 orders of which 41.3% were located in the forest and 58.7% in coffee. In La Unión, were found 6,935 individuals in 17 orders, where 64.2% were located in the forest and 35.8% in coffee. The number of individuals in Sandoná was 10,436, of which 10.7% were located in the forest and 89.3% in coffee. In forests, there were higher values of diversity than in coffee crops. The systems x depths interaction was not significant, an exception of the Shannon-Weaver and Simpson indices in Sandoná. Hymenoptera, Acari and Coleóptera were the most prevalent with differences in Ri and AR between forest and coffee. La edafofauna es un indicador biológico de la fertilidad del suelo. Conocer su diversidad permite establecer relaciones funcionales con éste y tomar decisiones para establecer prácticas de conservación. El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar la riqueza (Ri), abundancia relativa (AR) y diversidad de la edafofauna en cuatro municipios del departamento de Nariño La Unión, Sandoná, Consaca y La Florida. Los muestreos se hicieron en tres altitudes que se tomaron como repeticiones. En bosques secundarios y cultivos de café se registraron la Ri y la AR en mantillo, entre 10 y 20 cm y entre 20 a 30 cm de profundidad. En Consacá se registraron un total de 19.836 individuos de 24 órdenes, de los cuales el 37,6% correspondieron a bosque y el 62,4% a café. La Florida mostró un total de 13.980 individuos de 16 órdenes de los cuales el 41,3% se ubicó en el bosque y el 58,7% en café. En La Unión se encontraron 6.935 individuos en 17 órdenes, donde el 64,2% se ubicaron en el bosque y el 35,8% en café. El número de individuos en Sandoná fue de 10.436, de los cuales, el 10,7% se ubicaron en el bosque y el 8