ABSTRACT Forest-to-agriculture conversion and soil management practices for soybean cropping are frequently performed in the Cerrado (Brazilian tropical savanna). However, the effects of these practices on the soil microbial communities are still unknown. We evaluated and compared the fungal community structure in soil from soybean cropland with soil under native Cerrado vegetation at different times of the year in the Tocantins State. Soil samples were collected in two periods after planting (December) and in two periods during the soybean reproductive […]

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) establishing efficient symbiosis with plants play an important role on ecosystem sustainability and can be useful for revegetation of degraded lands. Symbiotic efficiency is related to AMF genotypes and plant species, as well as to environmental conditions that may affect the expression of symbiotic relationships. Thus, the first step to an efficient AMF symbiosis management is to study fungal variability regarding the efficiency with different host species. In this study root colonization and efficiency of several […]

Soil contamination by organic compounds, especially by the petroleum-derived, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), is a growing problem with serious environmental consequences. To evaluate the environmental impact of these products it is important to understand their effects on plants and the associated microbiota. The effects of PAHs on growth and mycorrhizal colonization of Brachiaria brizantha and Pueraria phaseoloides were evaluated here. Two PAHs, anthracene and creosote, were applied to a soil infested with the mycorrhizal fungus Glomus etunicatum at varied concentrations: […]

Revegetation with tree species is an appropriate strategy for the rehabilitation of degraded areas. However, the establishment and growth of these species in low nutrient soils depends upon several factors, such as the ability of the species to form and benefit from mycorrhizae. In this study, conducted in pots under greenhouse conditions at the Federal University of Lavras in Minas Gerais, Brazil, aspects of host-fungus relationship in tree species found in Southeastern Brazil were evaluated. The following arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) […]

The response of “trema” (Trema micrantha (L) Blum.) and “fedegoso” (Senna macranthera Rich.), both native woody species, to phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N) and inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) was studied in pots using a low-fertility clayey Dark Red-Latosol (Oxisol) Sample. The study, composed of two experiments, was carried out under greenhouse conditions at the Soil Science Department of Universidade Federal de Lavras, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, from march 1993 to april 1994. Both species grew poorly in the […]