Diversidade de fungos micorrízicos arbusculares em solo de agroecossistemas do semiárido cearense

Abstract

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi - AMF are key organisms in natural ecosystems and agroecosystems, as being responsible for a symbiosis that occurs in more than 80% of terrestrial vascular plants. Work in mutualism with plants, helping them with less mobile nutrient uptake, increase the absorption of water, protect them against diseases and are strongly influenced by agricultural practices and environmental changes. This study evaluated the influence of chemical parameters of soil, climate variation in two seasons and four different agroecosystems of tropical fruit trees (cashew- Anacardium occidentale, coconut - Cocos nucifera and soursop - Annona muricata), with the diversity of AMF compared with an area of native forest adjacent to plantations, considering the hypothesis that these factors change the community composition of these fungi. Samples were collected at depth of 0-20 cm in the rainy (April/2009) and dry season (October/2009) and used ecological indexes as a way of evaluating changes in the systems and periods. In total were identified 35 different morphotypes of spores and chemical parameters of the soil indicated that pH was negatively correlated with the average density of spores, Mg with the species richness and Zn with both. The average density of spores was negatively influenced by agroecosystems, because the highest values were found in the forested area in both periods, and except for the coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) crop, all the others had a significant increase in between the periods. Species richness was found to be stable, with only the soursop culture (Annona Muricata) different compared to other systems in the rainy season. During the dry season no differences being detected in richness. The relative abundance indicates greater dominance in the communities during the rainy season and relative frequency shows the prevalence of species of the genus Glomus on all systems. The highest diversity, as measured by the Shannon- Wiener index, indicated that the soil under coconut had the highest values in both periods. There was a general increase in diversity comparing the rainy with the dry season. The dominance assessed by the Simpson index corroborates the results obtained by relative abundance, demonstrating that in the rainy season the concentration of dominance was higher in all systems. The similarity analysis using the Bray-Curtis index shows that the dry season has made the systems more similar, since they showed higher values in this period. Cluster analysis based on similarity index shows that despite the richness of abundance variations, the systems were also grouped in both periods. The soursop formed an isolated group, the area of forest was more similar to the old cashew culture. The other cluster was formed by the coconut culture and the new cashew plantation. Results of the study allowed concluding: agricultural activities have changed the community composition of AMF in relation to the native forest; the coconut agroecosystem had the highest biodiversity of AMF among all the systems evaluated; the species of the genus Glomus were the most abundant in agroecosystems and natural ecosystem; there were differences in community composition and diversity of fungi in between the rainy and dry season; and the diversity of AMF spores in soil did not correlate with the tropical fruit tree’s infective capacity.