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| Author(s): |
Luis Felipe Guandalin Zagatto
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | Piracicaba. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA/STB) |
| Defense date: | 2023-05-10 |
| Examining board members: |
Tsai Siu Mui;
Veridiana de Lara Weiser Bramante;
Rogério Eiji Hanada
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| Advisor: | Tsai Siu Mui |
| Abstract | |
In forests, trees are the main responsible for defining interactions that occur above and below ground. The soil is a complex and vital ecosystem that harbors a vast diversity of organisms, which perform crucial functions in the environment, such as decomposition of organic matter, nutrient availability, and formation of symbiotic associations with plants. Thus, constant interactions between plants and biotic and abiotic soil characteristics generate a plant-soil feedback dynamic that plays a fundamental role in structuring and maintaining communities. Highly degraded, the Atlantic Forest is the second largest tropical rainforest on the American continent, with several transition areas between this biome and the Cerrado in the state of São Paulo suffering from anthropogenic actions. In the current context of climate change and ecosystem degradation, many of the functions performed by soil microbiota are being lost, making efforts for their recovery essential for the survival of these biomes. Therefore, this work aimed to characterize the taxonomic composition, diversity, and structure of microbial communities present in soils of a native Atlantic Forest area, a transition zone (ecotone), and a Cerrado area in the state of São Paulo, as well as to relate the structure of these communities to chemical and biochemical soil characteristics. For this purpose, soil samples collected from each of these areas were subjected to different analyses: total genomic DNA from soil samples was extracted and subjected to shotgun metagenomic sequencing; extracellular enzyme activities, including acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, beta-glucosidase, and arylsulfatase, were evaluated; and soil chemical (macro and micronutrients, organic matter, and pH) and physical (texture) parameters were assessed. The results indicate that the soils from the Atlantic Forest, ecotone, and Cerrado areas differed in some chemical (soil pH and available iron, phosphorus, and manganese) and biochemical (acid and alkaline phosphatase enzyme activities) properties, which influenced microbial communities. Additionally, microbial community structure was modulated by beta diversity, even though there were no differences in alpha diversity. Microbial community composition and relative abundance were similar for bacteria and fungi in soils from all three areas, but the relative abundance of archaea was higher in soils from the Cerrado area. Moreover, the soil microbial community in the Atlantic Forest area was more complex and resilient than the community present in the Cerrado area. The results of this study provide insights into how microbial community structure differs along a vegetation gradient between the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado, indicating that microbial communities present in the studied Cerrado soil are less resilient, making them more susceptible to disturbances that can impact the plant community present above ground (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 21/10716-0 - PLAN-SOIL FEEDBACK AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION IN A ATLANTIC FOREST-CERRADO TRANSITIONAL AREA |
| Grantee: | Luís Felipe Guandalin Zagatto |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Master |