MULTIFUNCTIONALITY OF ECOSYSTEMS SERVICES DELIVERED BYABOVEGROUND-BELOWGROUND INTERACTIONS

• Grant number: 24/22193-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Soil Science
• Principal Investigator: Miguel Cooper
• Grantee: Diana Yulieth Peña Sierra
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This proposal builds on the French Brazil project "FaunaServices" funded by CESAB/CEBA (France) and Sinbiose/FAPESP (Brazil, 2022-2025, Process 2021/14341-0), to identify the links between cosystem services delivery and soil macrofauna communities. As a continuation to the FaunaServices" project we applied and approved by the USP-CNRS Collaboration Program for funding a full PhD grant for both the CNRS and USP Principal Investigators (Jerome Mathieu for CNRS and Miguel Cooper for USP). This application of a PhD FAPESP grant for a Brazilian student is part this program. Neotropical regions are biodiversity hotspots and play a key role in earth functioning at both regional and global scales. Although ecosystem functioning in these regions highlyepends on its biodiversity, the contribution of soils and their biodiversity to ecosystem services is still largely overlooked. Our knowledge of the ecology of soil organisms remains very poor, in particular in ecosystem functioning and their importance for human beings. Their contribution is likely to be major, through at least four key mechanisms: 1) The role of soil as habitat provider for pollinators and above ground herbivores, 2) The role of soil fauna to support biodiversity, 3) The role of soils and soilrganisms on soil carbon regulation, and 4) The role of soils and osil organisms on soil water regulation. To understand the contribution of soils and soil organisms to these four key roles, the objective of this project is to explore how soil and soil organisms promote ecosystem services delivery in two biomes of the Neotropics, the Mata Atlantica and the Cerrado.