CHANGING FROM NATIVE VEGETATION TO AGROECOSYSTEMS: EFFECTS ON ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI COMMUNITIES IN BRAZILIAN DOMAINS- Coffea arabica IN THE CERRADO AND Musa parasidiaca IN THE CAATINGA
Coffee, banana, Diversity índices, spore morphology, DNA Internal Transcribed Spacer
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play a fundamental role in maintaining soil health and fertility, nutrient cycling, and the sustainability of natural and agricultural production ecosystems. This study aimed to evaluate the abundance, diversity, composition and structure of AMF communities in different agroecosystems within two Brazilian domains: Cerrado and Caatinga. Furthermore, we investigated the influence of soil physicochemical properties on these communities and the main differences between them. In the Cerrado, the study was carried out in coffee-growing areas under conventional and non-conventional (biological, organic regenerative) management. In the Caatinga, cultivated banana areas and areas of native vegetation of the Domain were evaluated. Sampling was carried out during the dry and rainy seasons in the Cerrado and in the rainy season in the Caatinga, and spore density, taxonomic composition and structure, and AMF diversity (both by molecular techniques and spore morphology) were analyzed using Hill numbers (q = 0, q = 1, and q = 2). Additionally, multivariate analyses were performed to investigate the relationships between AMF communities and edaphic attributes. The results indicated that environmental factors, especially seasonality and soil chemical characteristics, influenced the structure of AMF communities.