Dataset for effects of the transition from dry forest to pasture on diversity and structure of bacterial communities in Northeastern Brazil.

The data included in this article supplement the research article titled "Forest-to-pasture conversion modifies the soil bacterial community in Brazilian dry forest Caatinga (manuscript ID: STOTEN-D-21-19067R1)". This data article included the analysis of 18 chemical variables in 36 composite samples (included 4 replicates) of soils from the Microregion of Garanhuns (Northeast Brazil) and also partial 16S rRNA gene sequences from genomic DNA extracted from 27 of these samples (included 3 best quality replicates) for paired-end sequencing (up to 2 × 300 bp) in Illumina MiSeq platform (NCBI - BioProject accession: PRJNA753707). Soils were collected in August 2018 in a tropical subhumid region from the Brazilian Caatinga, along with 27 composite samples from the aboveground part of pastures to determine nutritional quality based on leaf N content. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc tests of environmental data and the main alpha-diversity indices based on linear mixed models (LMM) were represented in the tables. In this case, the collection region (C1 - Brejão, C2 - Garanhuns, and C3 - São João) was the random-effect variable and adjacent habitats formed by a forest (FO) and two pastures (PA and PB succeeded by this forest) composed the fixed-effect variable (land cover), both nested within C. In addition, a table with similarity percentages breakdown (SIMPER) was also shown, a procedure to assess the average percent contribution of individual phyla and bacterial classes. The figures showed the details of the study location, sampling procedure, vegetation status through the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), in addition to the general abundance and composition of the main bacterial phyla.

Forest-to-pasture conversion modifies the soil bacterial community in Brazilian dry forest Caatinga.

Soils comprise a huge fraction of the world's biodiversity, contributing to several crucial ecosystem functions. However, how the forest-to-pasture conversion impact soil bacterial diversity remains poorly understood, mainly in the Caatinga biome, the largest tropical dry forest of the world. Here, we hypothesized that forest-to-pasture conversion would shape the microbial community. Thus, the soil bacterial community was assessed using the 16S rRNA gene sequencing into the Illumina MiSeq platform. Then, we analyzed ecological patterns and correlated the bacterial community with environmental parameters in forest, and two distinct pastures areas, one less productive and another more productive. The variation in soil properties in pastures and forest influenced the structure and diversity of the bacterial community. Thus, the more productive pasture positively influenced the proportion of specialists and the co-occurrence network compared to the less productive pasture. Also, Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia were abundant under forest, while Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Chloroflexi were abundant under pastures. Also, the more productive pasture presented a higher bacterial diversity, which is important since that a more stable and connected bacterial community could benefit the agricultural environment and enhance plant performance, as can be observed by the highest network complexity in this pasture. Together, our findings elucidate a significant shift in soil bacterial communities as a consequence of forest-to-pasture conversion and bring important information for the development of preservation strategies.

Agronomic performance of carrot fertilized with roostertree [Calotropis procera (Ait.) R. BR.] in two growing seasons / Desempenho agronômico da cenoura adubada com flor-de-seda [Calotropis procera (Ait.) R. BR.] em duas épocas de cultivo

Because vegetables have a fast production cycle, they require fertilization in quantities and at ideal times to obtain maximum productivity, and green manure is an alternative practice to the use of mineral fertilizers. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different amounts of roostertree [Calotropis procera (Ait.) R. Br.] biomass and its incorporation times in two growing seasons, in the agronomic performance of carrots. The experiment was conducted on an experimental farm at the Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE) in the autumn-winter period (March-July 2012) and the spring-summer period (September-December 2012). The experimental design was a randomized block design with three replications. The treatments were arranged in a factorial 4 x 4 design; the first factor consists of four amounts of roostertree biomass (5.4, 8.8, 12.2 and 15.6 t ha-1 on a dry basis), and the second factor consists of four times of incorporation of this manure into the soil (0, 10, 20 and 30 days before sowing the carrots). The carrot cultivar used was Brasília. The following traits were evaluated: plant height, number of leaves per plant, root dry mass, total and commercial yield of roots. The best agronomic performance of carrot cultivar Brasília was found with the amount of roostertree biomass of 15.6 t ha-1, in the time of incorporation into the soil of 10 days before seeding. The cultivation in the autumn-winter showed higher total and commercial productivities of carrot roots fertilized with roostertree.

As hortaliças, por possuírem ciclo rápido de produção, demandam adubações em quantidades e momentos ideais para a obtenção da máxima produtividade, sendo a adubação verde uma prática alternativa ao uso de fertilizantes minerais. O presente estudo foi realizado com o objetivo de avaliar os efeitos de diferentes quantidades de biomassa de flor-de-seda [Calotropis procera (Ait.) R. Br.] e seus tempos de incorporação, em duas épocas de cultivo, no desempenho agronômico da cenoura. O experimento foi conduzido em campo experimental pertencente à Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), nos períodos outono-inverno (março a julho de 2012) e primavera-verão (setembro a dezembro de 2012). O delineamento experimental utilizado foi em blocos casualizados, com três repetições. Os tratamentos foram arranjados em esquema fatorial 4 x 4, com o primeiro fator constituído por quatro quantidades de biomassa de flor-de-seda (5,4; 8,8; 12,2 e 15,6 t ha-1 em base seca), e o segundo fator, por quatro tempos de incorporação ao solo deste adubo (0, 10, 20 e 30 dias antes da semeadura da cenoura - DAS). A cultivar de cenoura utilizada foi a Brasília. Foram avaliados a altura de plantas, número de folhas por planta, massa seca de raízes, produtividades total e comercial de raízes. O melhor desempenho agronômico da cenoura cv. Brasília foi obtido com a quantidade de flor-deseda de 15,6 t ha-1, no tempo de incorporação ao solo de 10 dias antes da semeadura. O cultivo no outono-inverno promoveu maiores produtividades total e comercial às raízes de cenoura adubada com flor-de-seda.