NCUE has undertaken various projects and activities, including Department of Biology’s “Project of “Agricultural Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan/Field Survey on Ants in Farms Cultivated using Distinct Farming Methods.” They are described briefly in the following section.

In recent years, the Agriculture and Food Agency of the Executive Yuan continued to promote environmentally friendly field management models to reduce the impact of agricultural production on the ecosystem and promote sustainable agricultural development. From November 2021 to May 2022, the project tested different farming methods in a paddy field (organic and conventional) in Chunrih, Yuli Township, and a pomelo garden (organic and conventional) in Olalip, Hegang Village, both located in Hualien. Every two months drop traps and the Winkler bag method were used to investigate the ant fauna under different farming methods. The midterm report of this project collected 4,253 ants from 47 species, 28 genera, and 5 subfamilies during four surveys conducted on four types of crops and cultivated fields. The diversity index analysis showed that the organic rice field had higher Simpson, Shannon, and evenness indexes. Ant activities were significantly higher in the conventional rice field and the organic part of the pomelo garden than those in the organic rice field and the conventional pomelo garden respectively, indicating that the potential ability to inhibit the growth of pests was better. Pheidole megacephala was the dominant species in both organic and conventional paddy fields, while Carebara diversa and Tetramorium sp. 2 were most abundant in the organic and conventional parts of the pomelo garden. The potential ecological functions provided by them have a greater effect on the ecosystem. The multivariate analysis of dominant species composition showed that the similarity between the organic and conventional rice fields was higher than that between the organic and conventional parts of the pomelo garden. Therefore, it is inferred that ants in rice fields have a lower sensitivity to pesticides, which can be attributed to the fact that the application of pesticides in rice fields is mainly aimed at crops standing in fields, and has less impact on the biological species living in ridges. However, the abundant species in the organic and conventional parts of the pomelo garden are quite different, indicating that ants in the pomelo garden are more sensitive to pesticides. Species accumulative curves revealed that the distribution of species in the organic part of the pomelo garden and the conventional rice field were saturated, but the number of species in the organic rice field and conventional part of the pomelo garden was still growing, and it is expected that more species will be collected. Research shows that biodiversity can be protected in agricultural production, while ants have a potential role in ecological services to achieve socio-ecological production landscapes that support the harmonious coexistence of agricultural ecosystems and organisms. Related event photos are shown in Figure 1-2.

Figure 1. Rice paddies in Chunrih, Yuli Township, Hualien

Figure 2. Pomelo orchard in Olalip, Hegang Village, Hualien