Soil macrofauna communities in Brazilian land-use systems.

Background: Soil animal communities include more than 40 higher-order taxa, representing over 23% of all described species. These animals have a wide range of feeding sources and contribute to several important soil functions and ecosystem services. Although many studies have assessed macroinvertebrate communities in Brazil, few of them have been published in journals and even fewer have made the data openly available for consultation and further use. As part of ongoing efforts to synthesise the global soil macrofauna communities and to increase the amount of openly-accessible data in GBIF and other repositories related to soil biodiversity, the present paper provides links to 29 soil macroinvertebrate datasets covering 42 soil fauna taxa, collected in various land-use systems in Brazil. A total of 83,085 georeferenced occurrences of these taxa are presented, based on quantitative estimates performed using a standardised sampling method commonly adopted worldwide to collect soil macrofauna populations, i.e. the TSBF (Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Programme) protocol. This consists of digging soil monoliths of 25 x 25 cm area, with handsorting of the macroinvertebrates visible to the naked eye from the surface litter and from within the soil, typically in the upper 0-20 cm layer (but sometimes shallower, i.e. top 0-10 cm or deeper to 0-40 cm, depending on the site). The land-use systems included anthropogenic sites managed with agricultural systems (e.g. pastures, annual and perennial crops, agroforestry), as well as planted forests and native vegetation located mostly in the southern Brazilian State of Paraná (96 sites), with a few additional sites in the neighbouring states of São Paulo (21 sites) and Santa Catarina (five sites). Important metadata on soil properties, particularly soil chemical parameters (mainly pH, C, P, Ca, K, Mg, Al contents, exchangeable acidity, Cation Exchange Capacity, Base Saturation and, infrequently, total N), particle size distribution (mainly % sand, silt and clay) and, infrequently, soil moisture and bulk density, as well as on human management practices (land use and vegetation cover) are provided. These data will be particularly useful for those interested in estimating land-use change impacts on soil biodiversity and its implications for below-ground foodwebs, ecosystem functioning and ecosystem service delivery. New information: Quantitative estimates are provided for 42 soil animal taxa, for two biodiversity hotspots: the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes. Data are provided at the individual monolith level, representing sampling events ranging from February 2001 up to September 2016 in 122 sampling sites and over 1800 samples, for a total of 83,085 ocurrences.

Earthworm richness in no-tillage farming systems and riparian forests in Southern and Southeastern Brazil.

No-tillage (NT) is a soil conservation management practice that can sustain important earthworm populations due the maintenance of soil cover and absence of soil disturbance. Sites with NT can also support native earthworm species, but few studies have identified the earthworms collected under NT. Therefore, the present study evaluated earthworm diversity in 14 sites under NT and seven with riparian forest (RF) in Atlantic Forest located in Rolândia, Cambé, Toledo (Paraná), Coxilha, Sarandi (Rio Grande do Sul) and Itaí (São Paulo). The earthworms were collected by handsorting using quantitative and qualitative methods. The 1471 individuals collected were classified into 23 species belonging to five families: Glossoscolex sp.71, sp.72, sp.73 and sp.74, Fimoscolex sp.23 sp.24 and sp.25 (Glossoscolecidae); Pontoscolex corethrurus, Urobenus brasiliensis (Rhinodrilidae); Haplodrilus sp.1 and sp.2, Ocnerodrilidae sp.1, sp.15, sp.16, sp.48, sp.49 and sp.50 (Ocnerodrilidae); Amynthas gracilis, Metaphire californica (Megascolecidae); Dichogaster affinis, D. gracilis, D. bolaui and D. saliens (Benhamiidae). Of the total, 15 were native and eight were exotic species. In general NT sites had higher species richness than the forest sites (except at Itaí), mainly due to the invasion of NT fields by exotic species, particularly Ocnerodrilidae sp.1 and Dichogaster spp. Six of the seven forests had native species, but only four NT fields had native earthworms, and these were generally found in low abundance.

Earthworm communities in long-term no-tillage systems and secondary forest fragments in Paraná, Southern Brazil.

The area destined for agricultural production in Paraná state in Brazil is ~6 million hectares, of which 79% are under no-tillage systems (NTS) that can positively affect earthworm populations. Furthermore, earthworm abundance and richness can be valuable soil quality. This study assessed earthworm communities in long-term no-tillage sites (NTS) and nearby secondary Atlantic Forest (SF) fragments. Sampling was performed in June 2018 and May 2019 using the quantitative Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility handsorting method (ISO-TSBF), complemented by qualitative sampling in three municipalities: Faxinal, Mauá da Serra and Palmeira, in NTS and SF. Eleven earthworm species, belonging to five families (Benhamiidae, Glossoscolecidae, Megascolecidae, Ocnerodrilidae, and Rhinodrilidae) were found along with seven native species (Glossoscolex sp.22, Glossoscolex sp.23, Fimoscolex sp.21, Fimoscolex sp.24, Fimoscolex sp.42, Andiorrhinus duseni and Urobenus brasiliensis) and four exotic or cosmopolitan species (Dichogaster gracilis, Amynthas gracilis, Metaphire californica and Pontoscolex corethrurus). The cosmopolitan P. corethrurus dominated Faxinal and Mauá da Serra, while in Palmeira Fimoscolex and Glossoscolex were the most abundant. Six species belonging to Glossoscolex and Fimoscolex were new to science and must be described. Overall, 239 individuals were found. In 2018 126 individuals were found (76 in NTS and 50 in SF) and in 2019, only 112 individuals were found (45 in NTS and 67 in SF). The highest earthworm abundance was in Faxinal (123 individuals), with 76 individuals in NTS and 47 in SF. In Mauá da Serra the same pattern was observed (SF>NTS), while in Palmeira in overall, fewer individuals (38) were collected (24 in NTS and 14 in SF). The NTS at Faxinal and SF Mauá da Serra in 2019 had only/more exotic/cosmopolitan species, while at the other dates and sites >50% of the specimens sampled were native species. Overall, forests had more native species than exotics: in 2018, natives represented > 75% of all specimens, but in 2019 both Faxinal and Mauá da Serra had more exotic species (> 65%), while at Palmeira, they represented 50% of the individuals. Earthworm total biomass for forest sites was higher in Faxinal (3.2 g) and NTS in Mauá da Serra (1.7 g) in 2019. Overall, the total biomass was higher in SF sites than NTS. Using a classification available for earthworm populations in no-tillage systems, all three sites were considered to have poor quality in terms of abundance (ind m-2), while for species richness, they were considered to have moderate (Faxinal and Mauá da Serra) and good quality (Palmeira).

Urban green areas as earthworm species maintainers in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.

Urban green areas can have a high impact on soil fauna due the environmental changes caused by human activities. This work aimed to assess earthworm populations in urban sites in the city of Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Earthworms were sampled in two urban sites: the Campus Ecoville of the Universidade Positivo and the Casa Verde space and in two land use systems (Grass Lawn and Native Vegetation), in the summer of 2018 and 2019 and winter of 2019. A total of 1052 individuals were found, belonging to five families and 12 species were identified, of which five are native: Glossoscolex sp.55, Fimoscolex sp.36, Fimoscolex sp.37 (Glossoscolecidae), Andiorrhinus duseni (Rhinodrilidae) and Ocnerodrilidae sp.43 (Ocnerodrilidae) and seven are exotic species: Amynthas corticis, Amynthas morrisi, Metaphire californica, Metaphire schmardae (Megascolecidae), Dendrodrilus rubidus (Lumbricidae) and Pontoscolex corethrurus (Rhinodrilidae). Of the five native species found, four are new species and will be described in the future and the specie A. duseni belongs to the group known as giant earthworms (minhocuçu) with specimens larger than 30cm. Despite the predominance of exotic species (n=932) compared to native species (n=114), the presence of new species may indicate that the managed environments can preserve native species. Moreover, the difference in the total number (native vs. exotic) can be attributed to the ability of the exotic species to survive human disturbances.