Arthropods Diversity on Sugar Palm Plantation with Vegetation Addition Refugia Flowering Plants

Abstract

Arthropods abundance is one of the factors that affect the growth of sugar palm plants. This study aims to examine the diversity of arthropods in sugar palm plantations that include several types of refugia plants, such as Zinnia elegans and Ruellia tuberosa. This research was conducted from June to September 2024 in the Wak Uban sugar palm plantation in Ulak Segelung Village, Ogan Ilir Regency, South Sumatra. Arthropod identification and analysis activities were conducted in the Department of Plant Pests and Diseases laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Sriwijaya University. Traps were set to obtain arthropods species using the Yellow Sticky Trap, Sweep Net, Pitfall Trap and Light Trap. The method used in this research is Purposive Random Sampling using five refugia flowers per plot, and consists of 7 plots. Several arthropods that have a positive impact, such as Eurema hecabe, Apis cerana, Ceriagrion auranticum, Trigona sp., Trigosa anexa, Collembola, Cleon dipterum, and several other arthropods, are found in sugar palm plantations.  Based on the data obtained, the diversity index (H') of arthropods in medium criteria (1< H' < 3). The value of the Evenness Index (E) is more than 0,6 (e ≥ 0,6), which means that the evenness of arthropods in sugar palm plantations is high. The arthropod dominance index is low (C > 0.5), suggesting no single species dominates the community. The presence of diverse distributed arthropod populations with low dominance indicates a stable and balanced ecological environment in the sugar palm plantation.