Effects of rubber planting patterns on ant diversity in low climate suitable area

Rubber is a very important economic crop in China, its' cultivation area in the medium to low climate suitable area accounts for about 79.06% of the total area. In recent years, the status of biodiversity in low climate-suitable areas and methods used to choose planting patterns to protect biodiversity in rubber growing area need immediate attention. In order to reveal the differences of ground-dwelling and canopy foraging ant communities in rubber plantations (Ⅱ), rubber-tea agroforestry (Ⅲ), rubber-coffee agroforestry (Ⅳ), and Dalbergia obtusifolia-corn agroforestry (control plot, Ⅰ), species diversity, community structure differences, and indicator species of ant communities were investigated using traps in September 2015 and August 2016 in 4 different types of sites. The results were as follows:the abundance, species richness, and ACE index of ground-dwelling ant communities demonstrated significant differences among the 4 types of sites, ranked as Ⅲ > Ⅱ > Ⅰ > Ⅳ (P < 0.05). Moreover, the abundance of canopy foraging ant communities revealed significant differences, ranked as Ⅱ > Ⅲ > Ⅳ > Ⅰ (P < 0.05). However, species richness and ACE index did not exhibit significant differences (P > 0.05). The community structure of both the ground-dwelling and canopy foraging ant communities displayed significant differences among the 4 types of sites (P < 0.01). The ant community structure of rubber-tea agroforestry had higher similarity with other sites. There was one indicator species in each of the 4 types of sites, such as Pheidole spathifera in Dalbergia obtusifolia-corn agroforestry, Tapinoma melanocephalum in rubber plantations, Odontomachus circulus in rubber-tea agroforestry, and Tetraponera birmana in rubber-coffee agroforestry. Our results indicate that the rubber-tea agroforestry is a choice that has both economic benefits as well as offers good protection to ant communities in the local rubber plantations. Therefore, it is of interest to conduct further studies on the management of rubber plantation patterns.