With growing interest in biodiversity in rice paddies, efficient sampling methods for quantitative evaluation of aquatic macroinvertebrates are needed because of their important role in rice paddies’ food webs. For this reason, we sought a proper sampling method through comparing data collected by using aquatic net, quadrat, and core in rice paddies located in Chuncheon-si, Kangwon-do, Hongseong-gun, and Chungcheongnam-do. Because the frame of the net was rectangular and had a flat bottom, the area, sampledwith the aquatic net, was calculated by multiplying the net width by the sweeping length, All samples were taken from the space between the rows of rice plants. Twenty four taxa of macroinvertebrates were collected in Chuncheon and 28 taxa in Hongseong. In Chuncheon, the number of taxa was similar among three sampling methods (17-18 taxa), but the number of individuals was different (aquatic net, 1,317/㎡, quadrat, 1,368/㎡, core, 1,810/㎡). In Hongseong, the number of taxa sampled by aquatic net was the highest (aquatic net, 25 taxa, quadrat, 21 taxa, core, 16 taxa), but the core was the highest in the number of individuals (aquatic net, 1,586/㎡, quadrat, 2,595/㎡, core, 3,704/㎡). The efficiency of samplers differed among taxa. Most of aquatic insect taxa were more abundant in the aquatic net, while those living on or in the paddy substratum such as Oligochaeta and Chironomidae were collected more in the quadrat sampler. To collect quantitative data for aquatic insects as well as to produce inventory of rare taxa, we suggest, based on samplers used in this study, to take quantitative samples of 6 replications from each of the edge and inner zones of a rice paddy by using an aquatic net, and to take qualitative samples both from sides of levees and the inner zone of rice paddy by using an aquatic net.

• 강현경
• 정근