How does converting tropical rainforests into agricultural land impact the invisible ecosystem engineers beneath our feet? This comparative study evaluates the ecological impact of land-use transition from an undisturbed natural tropical forest patch to active cocoa agroforestry within the Nyinahin community in the Atwima Mponua District, Ghana. Using localized quadrat sampling methods, topsoil macroinvertebrate communities and microclimatic parameters were tracked. The empirical findings demonstrate that while cocoa farming systems maintain high total individual insect abundances, they trigger significant community simplification. Open tree canopies reduce leaf litter depth and soil moisture, driving a structural shift toward stress-tolerant social insects (ants and termites), which dominate 65.9% of the farm fauna. Consequently, Shannon Diversity (H') dropped from 1.53 in the forest to 1.42 on the farm, while Evenness (J') fell from 0.85 to 0.79. The paper advocates for urgent climate-smart agroforestry frameworks that mandate the retention of forest canopy shade trees and minimal weeding to stabilize topsoil health, protect underground biodiversity, and secure long-term agricultural sustainability in West Africa.
Mubarack Ampratwum (Thu,) studied this question.