Relating the visual soil structure status and the abundance of soil engineering invertebrates across land use change

Author(s)

Franco, Andre L. C. ; Cherubin, Mauricio R. ; Cerri, Carlos E. P. ; Guimaraes, Rachel M. L. ; Cerri, Carlos C.

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH; v. 173, p. 4-pg., 2017-11-01.

Abstract

Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS) method assesses the status of soil structural quality through the examination of soil physical characteristics and biological features. Consistent relationships between VESS scores and quantitative soil physical properties have been demonstrated. However, how VESS scores correlate with quantitative soil biological properties remains unknown. This study assessed relationships between soil structural quality responses to land use change (LUC) and alterations in soil macrofauna in arable tropical soils. We simultaneously measured soil structural quality through VESS method and the abundance and community structure of macrofauna in chronosequences of land uses comprising pasture and sugarcane crop along a 1000-km-long transect through two major tropical biomes in Brazil. Correlation matrix and principal component analysis (PCA) were performed to elucidate correlations between the measured variables. Average VESS scores were 2.5 and 3.0 for pasture to sugarcane, respectively, showing a deterioration of soil structural quality following LUC. Soil macrofauna abundance and richness, as well as the abundance of individual dominant macrofauna groups, consistently decreased from pasture to sugarcane. PCA explained 56.5% of the variance, with pasture soils mostly associated with macrofauna variables, and sugarcane soils grouped near the VESS score. Correlation matrix and PCA showed positive correlation between the deterioration of soil structure after LUC and reductions in the size of macrofaunal community, especially termites (r(spearman)= 0.36; P= 0.012). These results indicate that VESS scores correlate well with the abundance and richness of major soil engineers. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/24982-7 - Understanding the role of soil (macro)biota in mediating shifts on structural stability and soil organic matter allocation in the land use change for sugarcane production
• Grantee: Andre Luiz Custodio Franco
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 13/17581-6 - SOIL QUALITY IN AREAS OF LAND USE CHANGE FOR SUGARCANE CULTIVATION IN SOUTH-CENTER OF BRAZIL - data for the evaluation of environmental sustainability of ethanol
• Grantee: Maurício Roberto Cherubin
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 12/22510-8 - Soil engineering by macroinvertebrates: controls on soil organic matter storage across land use change
• Grantee: Andre Luiz Custodio Franco
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate