Comparative assessment of select faunal taxa with reference to various growth stages of paddy in organic and non-organic fields of Kathiramangalam, Tanjavur District, Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Agro-ecosystems cover 43% or India's land area and also harbour wildfire. The paddy is a unique ecosystem that is known to support diverse wildlife in a short period. being a man-managed ecosystem. The change in management practices are known to impact the biodiversity of agro-ecosystems. The biodiversity supported by the paddy fields or adhiramanagalam were studied using select indicator taxa vi:. birds, butterflies and odonates and their communities were compared between two cultivation regimes viz. Organic and non-organic. with the following objectives I. To study the Community structure and variability of select faunal indicator taxa supported by the paddy fields. 2. To compare the changes in the community of select faunal taxa across paddy growth stages between organic and non-organic paddy cultivation regimes. These objectives were achieved by collecting species abundance data on birds, butterflies and odonates. during two cropping cycles of paddy by strip transect method. One Km transect with 50 m breadth was marked in paddy fi elds under organic and non-organic cultivation regimes each. The vegetation in the sampling area was recorded. The environmental, habitat conditions and physico-chemical water parameters were