Changes in Land Use through Eucalyptus Plantations Impact Soil Fauna Communities in Brazilian Savannas

Jonas Inkotte, Barbara Bomfim, Márcio Gonçalves da Rosa, Marco Bruno Xavier Valadão, Alcides Gatto, Juscelina Arcanjo Santos () and Reginaldo Sergio Pereira ()
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Jonas Inkotte: Department of Forest Engineering, University of Brasilia, Federal District, Brasilia 70910-900, Brazil
Barbara Bomfim: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Márcio Gonçalves da Rosa: SESI/SENAI Industry Social Service, Chapecó 89800-000, SC, Brazil
Marco Bruno Xavier Valadão: Multidisciplinary Center, Federal University of Acre—UFAC, Rio Branco 69920-900, AC, Brazil
Alcides Gatto: Department of Forest Engineering, University of Brasilia, Federal District, Brasilia 70910-900, Brazil
Juscelina Arcanjo Santos: Department of Forest Engineering, University of Brasilia, Federal District, Brasilia 70910-900, Brazil
Reginaldo Sergio Pereira: Department of Forest Engineering, University of Brasilia, Federal District, Brasilia 70910-900, Brazil

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 7, 1-14

Abstract: Soil fauna is responsible for one-quarter of all species on Earth, and these organisms play crucial roles in many ecosystem functions and services; however, these communities are facing several threats related to human activities, especially in the Cerrado ecoregion, the second largest biome. We aimed to evaluate the soil mesofauna communities in a native savanna (Cerrado) and two l eucalyptus stands to verify differences and infer possible impacts on soil mesofauna abundance and diversity through land-use changes, as well as find correlations between soil chemical parameters and soil mesofauna groups. Pitfall traps were installed in each one of the 12 plots per land-use type to evaluate soil mesofauna abundance and diversity in the dry and rainy seasons, and soil chemical analyses were performed at 0–20 and 20–40 cm depth per plot. We found that Collembola, Isoptera, and Diptera during the dry season collections, and Formicidae, Isoptera, and Diptera in the rainy season collection were more abundant in the Cerrado. The eucalyptus plantations have reduced the abundance of these groups, in addition to also representing a possible loss of biodiversity promoted by these monocultures. The organic matter, Potassium, Calcium, Phosphorous, and pH contents can be used as good soil mesofauna indicators in the Cerrado.

Keywords: soil mesofauna; Cerrado; soil chemistry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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