TITLE:
Logging Residues, Not Legume Cover Alone, Drive Soil Macrofauna Recovery after Rubber Replanting in Côte d’Ivoire
AUTHORS:
Kouakou Kouakou Aymard, Zon Demeango Serge, Silué Kolotchèlèma Simon, Alain Brauman
KEYWORDS:
Hevea brasiliensis, Pueraria phaseoloides, Clear-Cutting, Soil Health, Biodiversity, Rubber Replanting
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.17 No.11,
November
4,
2026
ABSTRACT: Replanting rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) plantations involves clear-cutting, uprooting and soil preparation, which severely disturb soil biota. This study assessed the effects of legume cover and logging residues on soil macrofauna recovery during the first 24 months after replanting. Macrofauna were monitored following clear-cutting of 38 - 40-year-old rubber stands at two industrial plantation sites in Côte d’Ivoire. Four treatments were compared in randomized block design: bare soil, legume cover (Pueraria phaseoloides) alone, legume cover with leaves, branches and stumps, and legume cover with all residues including trunks. Macrofauna were hand-sorted from soil monoliths (0 - 10 cm) collected in the inter-rows and beneath retained residues, before clear-cutting and at six-months intervals thereafter. Six months after clear-cutting, macrofauna density had declined by 64% and 93%, while taxonomic richness had decreased by 63% and 90% at the flat and sloping sites respectively. However, with only three blocks per site, these declines were statistically significant only at the sloping site. Legume cover alone increased total macrofauna density, mainly through Hymenoptera, whereas taxonomic richness, diversity and the densities of earthworms, isopods, millipedes, centipedes and spiders increased mainly in treatments with residue retention. Thus, residue retention promoted broader community recovery than legume cover alone, although recovery remained incomplete after 24 months: community composition still differed from that of the mature stands, and earthworm density remained below its initial level at the sloping site. No additional effect of retaining trunks was detected during the monitoring period. Macrofauna diversity was positively associated with soil health, carbon transformation and soil structure maintenance in simple regressions, but only its association with carbon transformation remained statistically significant at both sites after accounting for treatment and sampling date. Retaining logging residues in combination with legume cover is therefore recommended to promote soil macrofauna recovery after rubber replanting.