Sustainable organic farming supports diversity of Coleopteran beetles as a good indicator taxon: a case study from central Lao PDR

In sustainable agriculture, organic farming endorses multifaceted benefits for producing quality crops with biodiversity enrichment by reducing pesticide use and other harmful practices. Organic farming usually sustains species richness, controls pests, enhances pollination, and reduces soil impurities than conventional agriculture. Due to the recognition of such benefits, organic farming is encouraging globally in recent times. Consequently, in promoting organic crop yield, the presence of Coleopteran beetles in organic farms has considerably gained attention. Considering these, the present study concentrates on the faunal diversity and richness of Coleopteran beetles from five organic agricultural farms across central Laos during monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. Trapped beetles were taxonomically identified, grouped according to seasons and fields, and calculated their diversity indices. Identified Coleopteran individuals (n = 1038) belonging to 24 families showed higher diversity indices (Shannon, H′; Simpson, D; evenness, J′) during monsoon than dry seasons. Beetle occurrence frequencies were also recorded higher in monsoon than post-monsoon period. Representatives from Curculionidae, Staphylinidae, and Phalacridae families predominately prevailed across the organic fields in both seasons; however, no significant variations of beetle assemblages were noticed among the farmlands. The present study infers that sustainable organic farming supports the diversity of Coleopteran beetles in the agroecosystems as indicator taxon.