الفهرس 
Ecological reviewOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
A carina in general and oribatei in particular are the most abundant mites inhabiting the deciduous and coniferous secondary forests. According to many authors, the Cryptostigmatid mites are considered to play an important role in the process of soil fertility through the processes of organic turnover. This study was carried out to investigate the comparative ecotaxonomical on the influence of tree species (deciduous and coniferous secondary forests) on the communities of oribatid mites in Kafr El-Sheikh city. Therefore, it was found very useful to study population density of oribatid mites and the taxonomical survey for tow sites, selected at the faculty of Agriculture (Kafr El-Sheikh). Deciduous forest was formed of Salk snfsnf and the soil was neutral to slightly alkaline with a range of a pH 7.4-8.33. The secondary coniferous forest was selected to be planted with Cupressus sempervirens trees and the soil was (mor) and acidic with a range pH (6.5-7.9). Monthly soil samples were collected along a period of one year from April 1996 till March 1997; using a quadrangular metal cores (1 0 x 10 x 3 cm). Eight samples were collected from each site and each sample was divided into 2 successive depths; (i.e. 0-3,3-6 cm). Oribatid were extracted using funnels as recommended by Balogh and Loksa (1958). Trapped oribatid mites were seperated from other arthropods under a binocular stereoscopic microscope using the temporary preparation method. Identification were carried out according to Balogh (1972) and Balogh and Mahunka (1983). In addition, the physico-chemical factors of the different soil depths were measured during each sampling occasion. Air temperature, soil Temperature, % of soil moisture, % of organic matter and pH of soil were determined at each depth in both sites. By comparing the mean total number of individuals of both plots between the two depths there was no significant difference but the difference between the total no. of species in the two plots was a significant at P< 0.01) except Lametlobates hacrseri aegyptica which showed no significant difference.The resuts show that deciduous tree species has 229275 individuals /m2 than that of coniferous tree species 199025 individuals / m2. The, difference in the total no. of individuals /m2 between the two plots was significant at P< 0.0 1. This may be attributed to the tree species, vegetation cover and pH of soil. By comparing the composition of the fauna of the two habitats using the percentage of similarity. The similarity values between the two sites in late summer and autumn were higher than in spring and mid-winter months. This may be due to the large amount of fallen leaves during autumn providing the oribatids with nutrition and shelter, and the lowest similarity was during mid-winter may be related to unfavourable microenvironment factors.