Soil Fungal Communities Across Contrasting Land-Use Systems in an Intensively Managed Cerrado Landscape

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Soil Science
• Mycology

Background:

• Agricultural soil management practices can impact soil biodiversity.
• The Brazilian Cerrado is a biodiversity hotspot facing agricultural pressures.
• Understanding fungal community responses to land use is crucial for conservation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize soil fungal community structure across different land-use systems in the Brazilian Cerrado.
• To investigate the influence of agricultural practices on fungal diversity and composition.
• To assess the resilience of fungal communities to land-use change.

Main Methods:

• Soil samples were collected from a native Cerrado remnant, a cover-cropping system, and a potato monoculture field.
• Soil chemical and enzymatic properties were analyzed.
• Fungal community structure was assessed using amplicon sequencing (ASVs).
• Alpha- and beta-diversity analyses (Bray-Curtis, Jaccard, NMDS, ANOSIM, PERMANOVA) were performed.

Main Results:

• Soil chemical and enzymatic characteristics varied significantly across land-use systems.
• No significant differences in fungal community structure (alpha or beta diversity) were found among the sites.
• Core-mycobiota analysis revealed 157 shared ASVs, including common genera like Fusarium and Cladosporium.
• Native Cerrado soils exhibited slightly higher fungal richness and evenness.

Conclusions:

• Agricultural land use, in this study's context, did not lead to significant shifts in soil fungal community composition.
• Fungal communities in the Cerrado may exhibit resilience to contrasting land-use types.
• Further research is needed to understand fungal dispersal mechanisms and long-term impacts of agriculture on Cerrado's ecological integrity.