ABSTRACT Catharanthus roseus (L) G. Don (Madagascar periwinkle) belongs to the Apocynaceace family and is widely spread throughout tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The plant produces several important alkaloids, such as ajmalicine and serpentine, which are used in the treatment of circulatory diseases. The potential of inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and nitrogen fertilization to enhance the production of alkaloids was investigated in periwinkle. A greenhouse experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal […]

ABSTRACT Soil microbial biomass plays a significant role in soils, and it is often used as an early indicator of change in soil quality. Soil microbial biomass is affected by different fertilization management practices. Therefore, the impact of different long-term fertilization management practices on the soil organic carbon (SOC) content, soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC), and soil microbial biomass nitrogen (SMBN), as well as the soil microbial quotient (SMQ) in the tilled layer (0.00-0.20 m) were studied in the present […]

ABSTRACT Geostatistics allows the evaluation of the distribution pattern of data with high spatial variability in agricultural systems. This study aimed to evaluate the spatial variability of biological diversity indices of soil fauna under different land (agriculture and forest). Samples were collected in seven areas (millet, soybean, corn, eucalyptus, pasture crops, and preserved and disturbed Cerrado), in Maranhão state, Brazil. The soil fauna was caught trapped in pitfall traps, installed 3 m away from each other. In each area, 130 […]

ABSTRACT Preliminary results of in vitro experiments with multicontaminated soils and solid media indicated that nodulating diazotrophic bacteria of the genus Cupriavidus are promising for the remediation of contaminated environments due to their symbiosis with legumes and metal tolerance. Thus, strains of Cupriavidus spp. (LMG 19424T, UFLA 01-659, UFLA 01-663, and UFLA 02-71) were tested for their ability to tolerate and bioaccumulate cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) in Luria-Bertani broth. Changes in the growth pattern of Cupriavidus strains […]

ABSTRACT Termites have peculiar activities in the soil, inducing significant changes in the soil properties. The objective of this study was to assess physical and chemical properties and soil organic matter to evaluate the effect of termite activity and termite mounds on the soil. Two toposequences were selected and divided in slope thirds (shoulder, backslope, and footslope). In each of these, four termite mounds were selected. Samples were taken from the soils and termite mounds (top, center, and base) along […]

ABSTRACT Isotopic labeling of plants is useful in tracking the fate of carbon (C) from different plant parts in a soil-plant system when these parts decompose simultaneously. Pulse labeling is a relatively simple technique and is amenable for use in the field. Therefore, we evaluated a 13CO2 pulse-labeling method to label crop plants under subtropical field conditions for simultaneous root and shoot decomposition studies. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), pea (Pisum sativum L.), and vetch (Vicia sativa L.) plants were grown […]

ABSTRACT Microorganisms are excellent soil quality indicators because their properties within the soil community change quickly in response to changes in the surrounding environment. The aim of this study was to determine if the structure and diversity of soil bacterial and fungal communities were useful for discriminating cut flower cultures under conventional (CM), ecological (EM), and intermediate (IM) management practices. Results obtained by PCR-DGGE revealed that bacteria had lower similarity in structure and higher diversity under EM than under CM. […]

ABSTRACT: High yields obtained from soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill], and consequent profits, are related to efficient symbiosis of soybean with nitrogen fixing bacteria of the Bradyrhizobium genus. Inoculation with strains belonging to the Bradyrhizobium japonicum, B. elkanii, and B. diazofficiens species, approved by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA), is a common practice for this crop. However, variations in the composition of inoculants can change the quality of the product. The aim of this study was to genetically identify […]

Abstract Under the background of climate change, the increase of atmospheric CO2 and drought frequency have been considered as significant influencers on the soil microbial communities and the yield and quality of crop. In this study, impacts of increased ambient CO2 and drought on soil microbial structure and functional diversity of a Stagnic Anthrosol were investigated in phytotron growth chambers, by testing two representative CO2 levels, three soil moisture levels, and two soil cover types (with or without Glycine max). […]

ABSTRACT Coleopterans (Coleoptera) are major ecosystem service providers. However ecomorphological features that are comparable in a wide range of invertebrates within this group and in various environments must be found, to be able to study regions with different species, contributing to overcome difficulties of the taxonomic approach and understand the functioning of ecosystems. This research addressed the diversity of Coleoptera, using a methodology of ecomorphological traits, as well as their relation with the land use systems (LUS) and the soil […]