Arthropods associated with a forest of Attalea phalerata Mart. (Arecaceae) palm trees in the Northern Pantanal

This work presents a compilation of the research on soil and canopy arthropods in areas dominated by the palm species Attalea phalerata Mart. (Arecaceae), in the Northern region of the Pantanal of Mato Grosso. The taxonomic composition of the arthropods was assessed in different seasons and forest strata. Moreover, the vertical distribution of key taxa (Coleoptera, Formicidae and Araneae) were studied. The soil fauna was sampled using Winkler Extraction, and the fauna of the canopies by means of spraying and fumigation with synthetic pyrethroids. In an area of 40m2 the soil fauna sampled during 4 seasonal periods included 51,211 larval and adult arthropods (1,280.3 ± 168.3 ind. m-²), from which 23,675 (46.2%) were sampled on the ground surface, and 27,536 (53.8%) in litter. These arthropods were distributed between the classes Arachnida (877.5 ind.m-²; 68.5%), Insecta (401.2 ind.m-²; 31.3%), Diplopoda (0.9 ind.m-²; 0.1%), Crustacea (0.5 ind.m-²; < 0.1%) and Chilopoda (0.1 ind.m-²;