biodiversity of oribatid mites in two different microhabitats of khuzestan province (southwestern iran)

two different microhabitats (cropped fields versus established date-palm farms) in two different cities in khuzestan province, southwestern iran, were sampled monthly during 2011-2012 in order to assess the role of anthropic uses of soil on the biodiversity of oribatid mites. a total of 17 species of oribatid mites belonging to 10 families and 15 genera were identified (nine species were collected from the fields and 17 species were collected from date-palm farms). among the collected species, scheloribates fimbriatus with 22% relative abundance and acrotritia ardua with 19% were dominant species. the shannon index of species diversity and equitability was used to analyze data. species diversity of oribatid mites and equitability were significantly greater in the date-palm farms than in the cropped fields. time of year had no significant effect on biodiversity.