Community Structure of Soil Inhabiting Nematodes in Natural Forests of High Altitudes of Uttarakhand, India

A survey was conducted to study the community analysis of soil inhabiting nematodes in natural forests of high altitude regions of Uttarakhand. A total of 58 genera belonging to 11 orders and 39 families were recorded from the soil samples collected from these forests. Among the taxonomic groups recorded, the order Dorylaimida was the most dominant in terms of individual abundance as well as in generic diversity while bacteriovores were the most dominant in terms of generic diversity as well as individual abundance among the trophic group recorded. The trophic diversity index (TDI) of the zone ranged from 1.09–1.29 (1.20 ± 0.06), Shanon's Diversity Index (H’) varied from 2.34–2.87 (2.54 ± 0.14) and the maturity index (MI) ranged from 2.78–3.71 (3.27 ± 0.31). The high MI values indicate that it is a more stable habitat, less disturbed and mature ecosystem.