ex
forest left fallow for one year (F1); ex forest left fallow for eight years (F8 - the traditional hill-tribe
agricultural system); and permanent agriculture (C -growing cabbages as an annual crop). Ants were
collected from the uppermost 20 cm of the ground, covering the soil to the upper litter in eight 30 cm2
quadrats from the different types of land use during a range of seasons at each site. A total of 12,006 ants
were collected, representing 130 species from 48 genera in seven subfamilies. JT had the highest
average number of species followed by MF, F8, F1 and C, respectively. There were significant differences
in the number of ant species among types of land use and seasons, but no significant difference in the
abundance of ants was found among land use systems. The results indicated that jungle tea land use
maintained a significantly greater species-richness than any of the forest-fallow or annual-crop land uses in the highlands.