Are soil microorganisms good indicators of land-use impact in ecosystems?

Authors

  • Adriana v Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina

Keywords:

bioindicators, soil degradation, sustainability

Abstract

Soil microbial parameters as land-use indicators were evaluated in the semi-arid central region of Argentina. Contrasting land-use situations were compared in Chaco woodlands and Espinal agro-ecosystems: high impact (positive and negative), medium impact, low impact, and restoration. The sensibility of chemical (organic matter, pH, and nitrate) and biological (soil respiration and abundance of microbial functional groups) parameters was evaluated by estimating the percent variation between disturbed and undisturbed soils in each land-use situation. Moreover, microbial community structure (relation among functional groups) and carbon mineralization rate (respiration/organic matter) were calculated. Biological parameters were more sensitive than the chemical ones. Nitrifiers (variation range: –55% to +23%), cellulolitics (-50% to +49%), and soil respiration (–60% to +21%) were the most sensitive parameters. The changes on microbial community and carbon mineralization rate were good indicators, particularly in medium impact and restoration situations. Some biological parameters may have an important role as indicators for sustainable land-use ecosystems due to their high sensibility and easiness to measure.

References

ABRIL, A; M ACOSTA; L OLIVA & O BACHMEIER. 1990. Dinámica estacional de la microflora en un Haplustol típico de la región semiárida bajo diferentes manejos agrícolas. Ciencia del Suelo 8:30-40.

ABRIL, A & EH BUCHER. 1999. The effects of overgrazing on soil microbial community and fertility in the dry savannas of Argentina. Appl. Soil Ecol. 12:159-167.

ABRIL, A & EH BUCHER. 2001. Overgrazing and soil carbon dynamics in the Western Chaco of Argentina. Appl. Soil Ecol. 16:243-249.

ABRIL, A; V CAUCAS & F NUÑEZ-VAZQUEZ. 1995. Sistemas de labranza y dinámica microbiana del suelo en la región central de la provincia de Córdoba. Ciencia del Suelo 13:104-106.

ABRIL, A & C GONZÁLEZ. 1999. Dinámica de la fertilidad y de las poblaciones microbianas en suelos afectados por incendios en las sierras de Córdoba. Agriscientia 16:63-70.

ARSHAD, MA & S MARTIN. 2002. Identifying critical limits for soil quality indicators in agro-ecosystems. Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 88:153-160.

ATLAS, RM. 1984. Use of microbial diversity measurements to assess environmental stress. Pp. 540-545 en: MJ Klug & CA Reddym (eds). Current perspectives in microbial ecology. American Society for Microbiology. Washington DC.

BAUHUS, J & PK KHANNA. 1999. The significance of microbial biomass in forest soils. Pp. 77-110 en: N Rastin & J Bauhus (eds). Going underground: ecological studies in forest soils. Research Signpost. Canberra.

BEEBY, A. 1995. Applying ecology. Chapman & Hall, Londres.

BLUME, HP; E FLEISCHHAUSER; A HEBEL; C REIJ & KG STEINER. 1998. Towards sustainable land use. Vol I. Catena Verlag. Reiskirchen.

BOUMA, J. 2002. Land quality indicators of sustainable land management across scales. Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 88:129-136.

VAN BRUGGEN, AHC & AM SEMENOV. 2000. In search of biological indicators for soil health and disease suppression. Appl. Soil Ecol. 15:13-24.

BUCHER, EH. 1995. Indicators of biophysical sustainability: case study of the Chaco savannas of South America. Pp. 147-152 en: M Minasinche & W Shearer (eds). Defining and measuring sustainability: the biophysical foundations. The World Bank. Washington DC.

DICK, RP. 1998. Soil enzyme activities as integrative indicators of soil health. Pp. 121-156 en: CE Pnakhurst; BM Doube & VV Gupta (eds). Biological indicators of soil health. CABI. Wallingford.

DILLY, O & OH BLUME. 1998. Indicators to assess sustainable land use with reference to soil microbiology. Pp: 29-36 en: HP Blume; H Eger; E Fleischhauer; A Hebel; C Reij & KG Steiner(eds). Towards sustainable land use. Catena Verlag. Reiskirchen.

DOMMERGUES, Y. 1960. La notion de coefficient de minéralization du carbone dans les sols. Agron. Trop. 15:53-59.

FILIP, ZK. 2002. International approach to assessing soil quality by ecologically-related biological parameters. Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 88:169-174.

KOPP, S. 2002. Procesos biológicos del suelo en diferentes manejos de residuos de cosecha en siembra directa. Tesis de Maestría, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba.

LAL, R. 1998. Land use and soil management effects on soil organic carbon dynamics on Alfisols in Western Nigeria. Pp. 109-126 en: R Lal; JM Kimble; RF Follet & BA Stewart (eds). Soil processes and carbon cycle. CRC Press. Boca Raton.

MORELLO, JH & C SARAVIA-TOLEDO. 1959. El bosque chaqueño. II. Ganadería y el bosque en el oriente de Salta. Revista Agronómica del Noroeste Argentino 3:209-258.

PAUL, EA & FE CLARK. 1996. Soil microbiology and biochemistry. Academic Press. San Diego.

PAUL, EA & HP COLLINS. 1998. The characteristics of soil organic matterrelative to nutrient cycling. Pp. 181-198 en: R Lal; WH Blum; C Valentine & BA Stewart (eds). Methods for assessment of soil degradation. CRC Press. Boca Raton.

ROPER, MM & KM OPHEL-KELLER. 1998. Soil microflora as bioindicators of soil health. Pp. 157- 178 en: CE Pnakhurst; BM Doube & VV Gupta (eds). Biological indicators of soil health. CABI. Wallingford.

SMALING, EMA & O OENEMA. 1998. Estimating nutrient balances in agro-ecosystems at different spatial scales. Pp. 229-252 en: R Lal; WH Blum; C Valentine & BA Stewart BA (eds). Methods for assessment of soil degradation. CRC Press. Boca Raton.

SPARLING, GP. 1998. Soil microbial biomass, activity and nutrient cycling as indicators of soil health. Pp. 97-119 en: CE Pnakhurst; BM Doube & VV Gupta (eds). Biological indicators of soil health. CABI. Wallingford.

STEEL, RG & JH TORRIE. 1985. Principles and procedures of statistics. McGraw-Hill. New York.

TORRES, P & A ABRIL. 1996. Estudio sobre la fertilidad biológica en un desmonte selectivo del Chaco Árido Argentino. Ciencia del Suelo 14:30-36.

TRASAR-CEPEDA, C; C LEIRÓA; F GIL-SOTRES & S SEOANE. 1998. Towards a biochemical quality index for soils: an expression relating several biological and biochemical properties. Biol. Fert. Soils 26:100-106.

WICK, B; RF KÜHNE & PLG VLEK. 1998. Soil microbiological parameters and indicators of soil quality under improved fallow management systems in south-western Nigeria. Plant Soil 202:97-107

Downloads

Published

2003-12-01

How to Cite

v, A. (2003). Are soil microorganisms good indicators of land-use impact in ecosystems?. Ecología Austral, 13(2), 195–204. Retrieved from https://ojs.ecologiaaustral.com.ar/index.php/Ecologia_Austral/article/view/1532

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 2 (2003)

Section

Articles

License

Authors retain their rights as follows: 1) by granting the journal the right to its first publication, and 2) by registering the published article with a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which allows authors and third parties to view and use it as long as they clearly mention its origin (citation or reference, including authorship and first publication in this journal). Authors can make other non-exclusive distribution agreements as long as they clearly indicate their origin and are encouraged to widely share and disseminate the published version of their work.