الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract The effect of genetically modified (GM)crops on soil parameters and soil oribatid mite communities was assessed compared with those with non-GM crops. The study was carried out in 5 greenhouses situated in 3 locations in Al Mahala Al Kubra conducted City Gharbia Governorate, Egypt. All locations were cultivated with genetically modified (GM) and non genetically modified (NGM) sweet pepper Capsicum annuum. The impact assessment was investigated, taking into account,environmental parameters These variables were: temperature, soil moisture, acidity, electrical conductivity, C/N ratio nutrient concentrations (K, Ca, Mg, P) and soil dehydrogenase enzymes activity (DHA). Soil with GM crops showed significant increasing in organic matter content,C% and N% and DHA level compared with NGM one. However, K, Ca, Mg and P concentrations showed no significant change among studied sites. In total, 25 oribatid mite species were identified, with 5432 individuals in soil cultivated with GM and 2526 in soil with non-GM crops. In spite of the significant increase of oribatid mite abundances in soil with GM crops, species diversity and evenness of oribatid mites in soil cultivated with GM plants were lower than in soil cultivated with NGM plants. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) indicated that environmental variables showed a responds towards sites cultivated with GM crops rather than sites cultivated with NGM crops. The results also, indicated that the rate of litter decomposition in GM cultivation is higher than in NGM cultivation |