DECOMPOSITION OF COFFEE LEAF LITTER (COFFEA ARABICA) AND SOIL FAUNA AT PALINTANG COFFEE PLANTATION, BANDUNG REGENCY, WEST JAVA

• Main Author: Budiandari, Nurlita
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/72138
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) is a plantation commodity in Indonesia. Good productivity of coffee plants is needed to meet the demand of coffee markets, local, and globally. In coffee plantations, litter from the coffee leaf is a source of organic matter and nutrients through the litter decomposition process. Various organisms play a role in the process of litter decomposition including soil fauna. The purpose of this study is to determine the decomposition rate coffee litter and soil fauna involved in the decomposition process. In this study, measurements were made of the amount of decomposed coffee litter and identification of soil fauna that play a role in the decomposition process of coffee leaf litter. This study was conducted in the Palintang Coffee Plantation, Bandung Regency, West Java. The study was conducted from September to December 2021. The measurement of the decomposition of coffee leaf litter was carried out using the litter bag method with a mesh size of 4 mm. A total of 30 bags of litter were placed on coffee plantations. Every month, as many as 10 bags of litter are taken, then the soil fauna is extracted and the mass of the remaining litter was measured. Soil fauna extraction was carried out using the Berlese-Tullgren Funnel method. Litter mass was reduced by 49.47% over a 3 months period with a decomposition rate 0.48-1.67 gram/month. Environmental conditions that significantly affected the rate of litter decomposition were rainfall, soil moisture, and soil water content. Coffee litter decomposition significantly affected the content of NO3-, NH4+, Boron, and exchangeable Potassium (K-dd) in the soil. Soil fauna from the extraction obtained 47 species with a total of 1455 individuals. The highest number of species is 34 and the highest number of 582 individuals was found in December. In December, the highest diversity index is 1.1056 and the highest evenness index is 0.31. The highest dominance index in November is 0.06. Based on its role, the observed fauna consist of 86.46% detritivors, 11.27% predators, 1.58% herbivors, and 0.69% parasites. Soil fauna that had the highest abundance during the study were Isotomidae, Oribatulidae, Entomobryidae, Parasitidae, and Formicidae. Based on the results of the study, there are differences in the influence of the role of soil fauna every month on the decomposition process of coffee leaf litter.