Can different soil fertilization regimes modify soil fauna to interfere in maize grain yield?

Abstract

Soil fauna activities transform the soil, but soil organisms are also influenced by changes in the land. We hypothesize that different soil fertilization regimes modify soil fauna and in this way affect maize grain yield. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different soil fertilization regimes on the structure of the soil fauna and the association between these organisms and the maize grain yield. The experiment was conducted in Maranhão State (Brazil), in an alley crop system which was divided into 32 plots of 4×10 m, with four replicates and the following treatments: Gliricidia sepium – gliricidia (G), potassium (K), humic acid (HA), humic acid + potassium (HA + K), potassium + gliricidia (K + G), humic acid + potassium + gliricidia (HA + K + G), humic acid + gliricidia (HA + G) and uncovered soil (US). Soil fauna dominance, abundance, richness, Shannon–Wiener diversity index, and Pielou evenness index and maize grain yield were determined. Fertilization with humic acid and potassium caused the dominance of isopods. The dominance of ants was also related to soil potassium (K treatment). The only taxon associated with yield was Araneae. Although fauna abundance did not show differences between treatments, it was related to yield. This study does not confirm the hypothesis that different soil fertilization regimes affect soil fauna and consequently influence maize grain yield. Nevertheless, we confirm that maize grain yield may be improved by the presence of specific groups and by the increased abundance of soil fauna.

Fauna epiedáfica associada a fragmentos florestais de Araucaria angustifolia em diferentes condições edafoclimáticas no estado do Paraná

“…A fauna edáfica é um importante componente terrestre que desempenha no solo importantes funções ecológicas, formando uma complexa teia trófica em cuja base estão as raízes, serapilheira e a matéria orgânica do solo (Bardgette Van Der Putter, 2014;Brown et al, 2015). A comunidade de organismos edáficos está diretamente relacionada à ciclagem de nutrientes, a dinâmica de decomposição da matéria orgânica, na melhoria de atributos físicos como agregação, porosidade e taxa de infiltração de água, fluxo de energia, regulação de plantas e outros organismos, além de auxiliar na polinização e dispersão de sementes (Brown et al, 2015;Remelli et al, 2019;Martins et al, 2020). Considerando suas funcionalidades, a fauna edáfica tem sido utilizada como bioindicadora de qualidade do solo por sua extrema sensibilidade as perturbações antrópicas e por estarem correlacionados com inúmeras funções do solo, sendo de fácil estimativa e boa representação do ambiente que promovem (Baretta et al, 2011;Coyle et al, 2017;Rohyany, 2020), inclusive podendo refletir e caracterizar um ecossistema alterado (e.g.…”