X-ray fluorescence spectrometry applied to digital mapping of soil fertility attributes in tropical region with elevated spatial variability.

Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometry offers valuable information for prediction models of soil fertility attributes spatial variation, although this approach is yet scarce in tropical regions. This study aims to predict and build spatial variability maps of soil pH, remaining phosphorus (P-Rem), soil organic matter (SOM) and sum of bases (SB) using pXRF results through stepwise multiple linear regression (SMLR) and Random Forest (RF) in a highly variable tropical area. Composite samples from soil A horizon were collected at 90 points throughout the campus of the Federal University of Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil, for pH, P-Rem, SOM, SB and pXRF analyses. RF predictions showed the highest accuracies, especially for P-Rem and SB (R² values of 0.66 and 0.55, respectively). Attributes that showed higher R² in punctual predictions also exhibited higher R² in spatial predictions. Data obtained from pXRF in tandem with RF can be used to assist prediction models for soil fertility attributes, consequently enabling the digital mapping of such attributes and helping to improve the knowledge about the spatial variability of such attributes in soils of tropical climate. This technique can therefore assist in the identification and orientation of adequate management practices in tropical agricultural practices.

The effect of low salinity on teredinids

Teredinids survival in low salinities was determined in aquaria. Panels previously immersed in Ponta de Leste, Ilha Grande Bay, Rio de Janeiro, were transferred to aquaria with salinities ranging from 5.0 to 15.0 Practical Salinity Unities (PSU). The waters of Ilha Grande Bay receive a large amount of wood from the marginal rainforest vegetation, being suitable for the development of teredinids. The coastal areas of the bay are subjected to wide salinity fluctuations due to strong and sudden tropical storms. Eleven different species of teredinids were found in the panels. The critical salinity concentration for the survival of the two most common species was 11.93 PSU for Lyrodus floridanus and 12.90 PSU for Teredo furcifera. The effect of time on the mortality of teredinids at low salinities is also discussed.

A sobrevivência de moluscos bivalves perfurantes de madeira da família Teredinidae foi avaliada a partir de sua manutenção em aquários de baixa salinidade. Painéis de madeira previamente imersos em Ponta de Leste, Baía da Ilha Grande, RJ, foram transferidos para aquários, contendo água do mar, cujas concentrações salinas variaram de 5,0 a 15,0 PSU. A Baía da Ilha Grande recebe uma grande quantidade de madeira da vegetação marginal de Mata Atlântica, o que torna o ambiente particularmente favorável ao desenvolvimento de teredinídeos. As áreas costeiras da baía estão sujeitas a grandes variações salinas decorrentes de tempestades tropicais que ocorrem súbita e intensamente. A salinidade crítica à sobrevivência das duas espécies mais comuns nos painéis foi de 11,93, para Lyrodus floridanus e 12,90 para Teredo furcifera. O efeito do tempo na mortalidade dos teredinídeos, quando sujeitos a baixas salinidades, foi discutido.

Avaliação da infestação e diversidade de Teredinidae (Mollusca - Bivalvia) ao longo da costa do estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil / Evaluation of the infestation and diversity of Teredinidae (Mollusca - Bivalvia) along the coast of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

In order to evaluate the diversity and infestation level of Teredinidae wood-boring molluscs, ten satations were chosen along the coast of Rio de Janeiro State. Using five pine-wood panels in each station, it was possible to distinguish five areas according to species dominance. Ilha Grande Bay is characterized by the dominance of Lyrodus floridanus (Bartsch, 1922); Sepetiba Bay, by Bankia fimbriatula Moll & Roch, 1931, Tijuca Lagoon by Teredo navalis Linnaeus, 1758; Guanabara Bay by Notoredo knoxi (Bartsch, 1917) and Araruama Lagoon by Teredo furcifera Martens, 1894. Specific composition and dominance of these species were due mainly to abiotic factors such as salinity whereas infestation level was associated not only to salinity but also to other factors such as the quantity and quality of fouling, the presence of larval dispersion focus and the wood supply in each area.