Changes in Land Use through Eucalyptus Plantations Impact Soil Fauna Communities in Brazilian Savannas

Abstract

Soil fauna is responsible for one-quarter of all species on Earth, and these organisms play crucial roles in many ecosystem functions and services; however, these communities are facing several threats related to human activities, especially in the Cerrado ecoregion, the second largest biome. We aimed to evaluate the soil mesofauna communities in a native savanna (Cerrado) and two l eucalyptus stands to verify differences and infer possible impacts on soil mesofauna abundance and diversity through land-use changes, as well as find correlations between soil chemical parameters and soil mesofauna groups. Pitfall traps were installed in each one of the 12 plots per land-use type to evaluate soil mesofauna abundance and diversity in the dry and rainy seasons, and soil chemical analyses were performed at 0–20 and 20–40 cm depth per plot. We found that Collembola, Isoptera, and Diptera during the dry season collections, and Formicidae, Isoptera, and Diptera in the rainy season collection were more abundant in the Cerrado. The eucalyptus plantations have reduced the abundance of these groups, in addition to also representing a possible loss of biodiversity promoted by these monocultures. The organic matter, Potassium, Calcium, Phosphorous, and pH contents can be used as good soil mesofauna indicators in the Cerrado.