CZECH UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES PRAGUE FACULTY OF TROPICAL AGRISCIENCES Assessment of insect biological diversity of various land use systems in the Peruvian Amazon Ph.D. Thesis Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences Department of Crop Sciences and Agroforestry Study program: Agriculture in Tropics and Subtropics Author: Ing. Jitka Straková Supervisor: doc. Ing. Bohdan Lojka, Ph.D. Prague, October 2018 I STATUTORY DECLARATION Acknowledgement I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, doc. Ing. Bohdan Lojka, PhD, for his encouragement, guidance, and support that were invaluable during my work. I would also like to thank doc. Ing. Štěpán Kubík, PhD from Czech University of Life Sciences for his support as my professional consultant and his help with the entomological determination. This work would not have been possible without the support of entomology experts from Charles University in Prague (Mgr. Jakub Straka Ph.D., Mgr. Martin Fikáček Ph.D. and their collegues). My thanks also belong to specialists from the National Museum. My hearty thanks belong to the organization, Nadání Josefa, Marie a Zdeňky Hlávkových, who supported me financially on my journey to the Peruvian Amazon. The Expedition fund of the Klub Cestovatelů also contributed financially to the realization of this research. This research could not have been realized without financial and scientific support of the project: “Sustainable management of natural resources in Peruvian Amazon (23/Mze/B/07-10)” carried by the Institute of Tropics and Subtropics of The Czech University of Life Sciences and internal Faculty grant IGA (51110/1312/3119, 2009). The CIDRA Association gave me technical, personal and transport support in specific Amazonian conditions. My acknowledgement goes to them. CIFA (Centro de Investigación de Fronteras Amazónicas) financially and professionally supported the investigation in the Abujao River valley and agreed to the use of data in this thesis for comparison. My very special thank goes to my friend Lourdes G. Quiňones Ruiz and her family for their help and support during my stay in Peru. Without them it wouldn’t have been possible to complete my research. Last but not least, I would like to thank to God for his constant support and the strength to don’t give up. Also to my husband, sons, family, and closest friends who always encourage me, throughout my difficult work in the field, and share the happiness of my achievements with me. II STATUTORY DECLARATION Statutory declaration I hereby certify that I have completed my thesis independently, only with the expert guidance of my thesis tutor doc. Ing. Bohdan Lojka Ph.D. and professional entomologist consultants. I further declare that all data and information I have used in my thesis are stated in the references according to the citation rules of the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, CULS Prague, for writing theses in English, published in 2017. Prague, October, 2018 Ing. Jitka Straková II ABSTRACT Abstract During recent decades, all tropical regions have been under high demographic pressure. Increasing food and land demands results in forest conversion and high biodiversity losses due to the destruction of natural habitats of millions of animal species. This effect is more evident in the surroundings of fast-growing cities, for example in the Ucayali region of the Peruvian amazon. However agroforestry is perceived to be able to conserve biodiversity. The main objective of this study was to assess and compare insect species richness and diversity of five different ecosystems/land-use systems (primary forest, multistrata agroforestry, cocoa agroforestry, monoculture cropping, and degraded lands infested by weeds) and to determine the relationship between land-use intensity and the rate of biodiversity loss. The study was carried out in four villages in the surroundings of Pucallpa city. In all assessed ecosystems, insects were captured by Malaise and pitfall traps and sweeping nets, followed by determination of morphospecies. The data were evaluated using standardized indexes for bio-monitoring e.g. Shannon diversity index, Jackknife`s species richness estimator, Sørensen`s index of similarity, ANOVA, etc. In total, we captured 4,949 individuals of 756 morphospecies. The most abundant and species rich sites were located in primary forest followed by multistrata agroforestry systems. Agricultural fields with monocultures and weedy grasslands were found to have the lowest values of insect biodiversity. Species diversity was highest in the forest of Macuya, decreasing along an ecological gradient to multistrata agroforestry, with lower values in cocoa agroforestry, monoculture cropping, and weedy grasslands. The presented research also highlights qualitative data about lifestyle strategies of captured Hymenoptera: Aculeata insects, which have a wide diversity of social life strategies and which, according to the statistics, are not influenced by the type of ecosystem. The Amazon basin is not only diverse in insect species, but also in human native ethnicities, such as the Asheninka and Shipibo tribes. Therefore, we also compared ethno-entomological knowledge of small-scale farmers in the assessed area to people who live in a close relationship with the natural habitat – native indigenous tribes. Interestingly, people of the Asheninka tribe have the most conservative entomological knowledge, in comparison to people of the Shipibo tribe or of mestizo origin. Key words: agroforestry, biodiversity reservoir, Neotropical insects, Peruvian rainforest III ABSTRACT Abstrakt V posledních desetiletích byly všechny tropické regiony vystaveny vysokému demografickému tlaku. Zvyšování požadavků na potraviny a půdu mělo za následek přeměnu lesů a vysoké ztráty biologické rozmanitosti způsobené ničením přírodních stanovišť milionů druhů zvířat. Tento efekt je patrnější v okolí rychle rostoucích měst, například v oblasti Ucayali v peruánské amazonii. Oproti klasickému hospodaření je agrolesnictví vnímáno jako schopné částečně biodiverzitu uchovat. Hlavním cílem této studie bylo posoudit a porovnat bohatost a diverzitu hmyzu pěti různých ekosystémů/ systémů využívání půdy (primární les, multistrata agrolesnictví, agrolesnictví zaměřené na produkci kakaa, monokulturu a degradované zaplevelené půdy) a stanovit vztah mezi intenzitou využívání půdy a mírou ztráty biologické diverzity. Studie probíhala ve čtyřech obcích v okolí města Pucallpa. Sběr hmyzu probíhal využitím Malaiseho pastí, zemních pasti, smýkací sítě, a následně určen do morfodruhů. Data byla vyhodnocena pomocí standardizovaných indexů pro bio- monitoring, např. Shannonův index diverzity, Jackknife index, Sørensenův index podobnosti, ANOVA apod. Celkem bylo určeno 4949 jedinců v 756 morfospecies. Nejvíce početné a druhově bohaté lokality byly nalezeny v primárním lese následované agrolesnickými systémy typu multistrata. Bylo zjištěno, že zemědělské plochy s monokulturami a zaplevelenými půdami mají nejnižší hodnoty biodiverzity. Hodnoty biodiverzity se snižovaly podél ekologického gradientu od lesního porostu, přes multistrata agrolesnictví, nižší hodnoty pak vykazovalo agrolesnictví s produkcí kakaa, monokultury a na samém závěru degradované půdy. Tato studie také pracuje s kvalitativními údaji o životní strategi skupiny žahadlových blanokřídlých (Hymenoptera: Aculeata), která má široké spektrum sociálního chování. Na základě našich výsledků, není toto chování a strategie ovlivněno typem ekosystému. Amazonská nížina je domovem mnoha etnických skupin jako například kmeny Asheninka a Shipibo. Zajímali jsme se o to, jaké znalosti o hmyzu mají farmáři ze zkoumaných lokalit ve srovnání s lidmi etnického původu, kteří žijí v těsném souladu s přírodou. Lidé kmene Asheninka zachovávají mnohem více znalostí o hmyzu než kmen Shipibo a farmáři. Klíčová slova: agrolesnictví, rezervoár biodiverzity, neotropický hmyz, peruánský deštný prales III CONTENTS Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................... iv Abstrakt .................................................................................................................................... v 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 2. Study background ................................................................................................................ 3 2.1. Biodiversity ................................................................................................................... 3 2.1.1. Definition and concept ........................................................................................... 3 2.1.2. Importance of biodiversity monitoring .................................................................. 5 2.1.3. Biodiversity in the Peruvian Amazon .................................................................... 6 2.1.4. Main reasons for biodiversity losses in the Peruvian Amazon .............................. 8 2.2.1. Historical Amazonian agriculture ........................................................................ 12 2.2.2. Agricultural practices in Peruvian Amazonia ...................................................... 13 3. Role of insects in tropical ecosystems .............................................................................. 19 3.1. Insect pests and beneficial species .............................................................................