Amazonian earthworm biodiversity is heavily impacted by ancient and recent human disturbance.

Despite the importance of earthworms for soil formation, more is needed to know about how Pre-Columbian modifications to soils and the landscape. Gaining a deeper understanding is essential for comprehending the historical drivers of earthworm communities and the development of effective conservation strategies in the Amazon rainforest. Human disturbance can significantly impact earthworm diversity, especially in rainforest soils, and in the particular case of the Amazonian rainforest, both recent and ancient anthropic practices may be important. Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs) are fertile soils found throughout the Amazon Basin, created by sedentary habits and intensification patterns of pre-Colombian societies primarily developed in the second part of the Holocene period. We have sampled earthworm communities in three Brazilian Amazonian (ADEs) and adjacent reference soils (REF) under old and young forests and monocultures. To better assess taxonomic richness, we used morphology and the barcode region of the COI gene to identify juveniles and cocoons and delimit Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs). Here we suggest using Integrated Operational Taxonomical units (IOTUs) which combine both morphological and molecular data and provide a more comprehensive assessment of diversity, while MOTUs only rely on molecular data. A total of 970 individuals were collected, resulting in 51 taxonomic units (IOTUs, MOTUs, and morphospecies combined). From this total, 24 taxonomic units were unique to REF soils, 17 to ADEs, and ten were shared between both soils. The highest richness was found in old forest sites for ADEs (12 taxonomic units) and REFs (21 taxonomic units). The beta-diversity calculations reveal a high species turnover between ADEs and REF soils, providing evidence that ADEs and REFs possess distinct soil biota. Furthermore, results suggest that ADE sites, formed by Pre-Columbian human activities, conserve a high number of native species in the landscape and maintain a high abundance, despite their long-term nature.

Can Rubber Crop Systems Recover Termite Diversity in Previously Degraded Pastures in the Colombian Amazon Region?

Livestock production extension in Amazon has caused deforestation and soil degradation, with negative consequences on diversity and environmental services. Recently, rubber crops have been established in deteriorated soils of the Colombian Amazon as an option to restore hectares of unproductive degraded pastures. Bioindicator insects, such as termites, have been used to assess soil quality and fertility restoration. This study evaluated differences in termite abundance, species richness, and community composition in three different rubber crop systems as an indirect way of evaluating soil diversity restoring. Three rubber crop systems were sampled: clonal fields (rubber monocultures with different rubber clones), traditional commercial rubber plantations (rubber monocultures with just one rubber clone), and mixed plantations (rubber fields intercropped with copoazú fruit trees). Additionally, pastures in use for livestock production and natural forest relicts were compared to rubber crop systems, to serve as reference habitats. Termites were sampled using a 105-m transect method. Alpha diversity and beta diversity were estimated and compared between rubber crops and reference habitats. A total of 80 termite species belonging to two families were collected. Mixed plantations and pastures presented the lowest diversity rates. Species richness in rubber crop systems was 39% higher than that in pastures and included 72% of the termite species found in natural forests. Indicator species analysis associated soil-feeding termites with less diverse habitats and wood-feeding termites with high diverse habitats. Our results demonstrate that termite recovery will depend on the farming system selected and the agricultural practices implemented in the field, with some rubber crop systems, like commercial rubber plantations and clonal fields, recovering termite diversity better than others, such as mixed plantations.

A "Dirty" Footprint: Macroinvertebrate diversity in Amazonian Anthropic Soils.

Amazonian rainforests, once thought to be pristine wilderness, are increasingly known to have been widely inhabited, modified, and managed prior to European arrival, by human populations with diverse cultural backgrounds. Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs) are fertile soils found throughout the Amazon Basin, created by pre-Columbian societies with sedentary habits. Much is known about the chemistry of these soils, yet their zoology has been neglected. Hence, we characterized soil fertility, macroinvertebrate communities, and their activity at nine archeological sites in three Amazonian regions in ADEs and adjacent reference soils under native forest (young and old) and agricultural systems. We found 673 morphospecies and, despite similar richness in ADEs (385 spp.) and reference soils (399 spp.), we identified a tenacious pre-Columbian footprint, with 49% of morphospecies found exclusively in ADEs. Termite and total macroinvertebrate abundance were higher in reference soils, while soil fertility and macroinvertebrate activity were higher in the ADEs, and associated with larger earthworm quantities and biomass. We show that ADE habitats have a unique pool of species, but that modern land use of ADEs decreases their populations, diversity, and contributions to soil functioning. These findings support the idea that humans created and sustained high-fertility ecosystems that persist today, altering biodiversity patterns in Amazonia.

Distinct arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities associate with different manioc landraces and Amazonian soils.

Manioc (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is an important tropical crop that depends on arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) association for its nutrition. However, little is known about the richness and species composition of AM fungal communities associating with manioc and possible differences across soils and manioc landraces. We studied the diversity and composition of AM fungal communities present in the roots of different manioc landraces and surrounding soils in indigenous shifting cultivation fields on different Amazonian soil types. A total of 126 AM fungal virtual taxa (VT; phylogenetically defined taxonomic units) were recovered from soil and root samples using 454 sequencing of AM fungal SSU rRNA gene amplicons. Different AM fungal communities occurred in different soil types. Minor differences occurred in the composition of AM fungal community associating with different manioc landraces, but AM fungal richness was not different among them. There was a low similarity between the AM fungal communities colonizing manioc roots and those recorded in the soil, independently of differences in soil properties or the manioc landrace evaluated. Rhizophagus manihotis and Glomus VT126 were the most abundant AM fungal species colonizing manioc roots. Contrasting with the results of earlier spore-based investigations, all the AM fungi identified as indicator species of particular manioc landraces were morphologically unknown Glomus species. In conclusion, different manioc landraces growing in common conditions associated with distinct AM fungal communities, whereby AM fungal communities in soils did not necessarily reflect the AM fungal communities colonizing manioc roots.

A preliminary checklist of soil ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Colombian Amazon.

BACKGROUND: This paper presents an updated list of soil ants of the Colombian Amazon collected in three different river basins: the Amazon, the Caquetá and the Putumayo. The list includes 10 subfamilies, 60 genera and 218 species collected from TSBF monoliths at four different depths (Litter, 0 - 10 cm, 10 - 20 cm and 20 - 30 cm). This updated list increases considerably the knowledge of edaphic macrofauna of the region, due to the limited published information about soil ant diversity in the Colombian Amazon region. NEW INFORMATION: This is the first checklist of soil ant diversity of the Colombian Amazon region. Six new records of species for Colombia are exposed: Acropyga tricuspis (LaPolla, 2004), Typhlomyrmex clavicornis (Emery, 1906), Typhlomyrmex meire (Lacau, Villemant & Delabie, 2004), Cyphomyrmex bicornis (Forel, 1895), Megalomyrmex emeryi (Forel, 1904) and Myrmicocrypta spinosa (Weber, 1937), most of them corresponding to subterranean ants.

Distribución de bacterias potencialmente fijadoras de nitrógeno y su relación con parámetros fisicoquímicos en suelos con tres coberturas vegetales en el sur de la Amazonia colombiana

Distribution of potentially nitrogen-fixing bacteria and its relationship with physicochemical parameters in soils with three vegetation types in the southern Colombian Amazon region. Potentially nitrogen-fixing microaerobic and aerobic bacteria were isolated from several Colombian Amazon soils (forest, pastures and chagras) and two landscapes (floodable and non floodable areas). The abundance and distribution of bacteria were evaluated, as well as their relationship with soil physical and chemical characteristics. Landscape had a direct influence on the abundance of the microaerobic bacteria, with higher numbers in forest and pasture soils in non- floodable zones. The aerobic isolates (N=51) were grouped into 19 morphologies, with the highest numbers found in forest soil in floodable zones. A higher number of aerobic morphologies was shared among forest sites (Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling and Analysis of Similarity p<0.05), and 40% of the distribution was explained by lime percentage and Al concentration. Rev. Biol. Trop. 57 (4): 915- 927. Epub 2009 December 01.

Se evaluó la abundancia y distribución de bacterias microaerófilas y aerobias potencialmente fijadoras de nitrógeno aisladas a partir de suelos bajo coberturas de bosque, pastizal y chagra en dos paisajes, terraza y llanura inundable, en el sur de trapecio amazónico. Se relacionó el recuento en placa en el medio Ashby de estas bacterias aerobias con las características físicas y químicas del suelo. Se encontró mayor abundancia de bacterias aerobias y microaerofilas en suelos bajo cobertura de pastizal. Se observó influencia directa del paisaje sobre la abundancia de bacterias microaerófilas registrando mayores recuentos los suelos bajo terraza en las coberturas de bosque y pastizal. Los aislamientos aerobios obtenidos (51) se agruparon en 19 morfologías, de las cuales se obtuvo mayor número en suelos bajo bosque y en el paisaje de llanura inundable. A través del análisis multidimensional no métrico (NMDS) y análisis de similaridades (ANOSIM) (p<0.05) se comprobó que entre los sitios de muestreo bajo la cobertura de bosque se comparten mayor número de morfologías de bacterias aerobias que bajo las demás coberturas. El programa BIOENV indicó que esta distribución fue explicada en un 40% por las variables % limo y Al (meq/100 g).

[Distribution of potentially nitrogen-fixing bacteria and its relationship with physicochemical parameters in soils with three vegetation types in the southern Colombian Amazon region]. / Distribución de bacterias potencialmente fijadoras de nitrógeno y su relación con parámetros fisicoquímicos en suelos con tres coberturas vegetales en el sur de la Amazonia colombiana.

Potentially nitrogen-fixing microaerobic and aerobic bacteria were isolated from several Colombian Amazon soils (forest, pastures and chagras) and two landscapes (floodable and non floodable areas). The abundance and distribution of bacteria were evaluated, as well as their relationship with soil physical and chemical characteristics. Landscape had a direct influence on the abundance of the microaerobic bacteria, with higher numbers in forest and pasture soils in non-floodable zones. The aerobic isolates (N=51) were grouped into 19 morphologies, with the highest numbers found in forest soil in floodable zones. A higher number of aerobic morphologies was shared among forest sites (Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling and Analysis of Similarity p<0.05), and 40% of the distribution was explained by lime percentage and Al concentration.