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Changes in Microbial Community Structure and Soil Biological Properties in Mined Dune Areas During Re-vegetation

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe the impact of re-vegetation on the restoration of microbial community structure and soil microbiological properties in sand dunes that had been affected by mining activity. Soil samples were collected during the dry and rainy seasons from a chronosequence (1, 9, 21 years) of re-vegetated dunes using a single preserved dune as a reference. The composition of the fatty acid methyl esters and soil microbial properties were evaluated. The results showed that the changes in microbial community structure were related to seasonal variations: biomarkers of Gram-positive bacteria were higher than Gram-negative bacteria during the dry season, showing that this group of organisms is more tolerant to these stressful conditions. The microbial community structure in the natural dune was less affected by seasonal variation compared to the re-vegetated areas, whereas the opposite was observed for microbiological properties. Thus, in general, the proportion of saprobic fungi was higher in the natural dune, whereas Gram-negative bacteria were proportionally more common in the younger areas. Although over time the re-vegetation allows the recovery of the microbial community and the soil functions, these communities and functions are different from those found in the undisturbed areas.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to the Millennium Inorganic Chemicals—a Cristal Company and ‘Embrapa Tabuleiros Costeiros’ for logistical support; FACEPE for a PhD scholarship to V.M. Santos; CNPq for a PhD scholarship to D.K.A. Silva and a research fellowship and grant support provided to L.C. Maia; and CAPES for a doctoral scholarship granted to I.E.C. Escobar and financing of the project: Microbial dynamics and viability of land-use coverage in the natural regeneration of dunes impacted by mining on the coast of Paraíba, Brazil (PNPD-CAPES/CNPq). We are indebted with Érika Anjos, Daniele Assis, and Daniela Tenório for helping with the analyses; David Bousfield for his useful suggestions; and Scott Heald for English’s review of the manuscript. We also thank the reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.

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  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia de Fungos, Departamento de Micologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. da Engenharia, s/n, Recife, PE, 50740-600, Brazil

    Indra Elena C. Escobar, Vilma M. Santos, Danielle Karla A. da Silva, Uided Maaze T. Cavalcante & Leonor C. Maia

  2. Embrapa Tabuleiros Costeiros, Av. Beira Mar 3250, Aracaju, SE, 49025-040, Brazil

    Marcelo F. Fernandes

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  1. Indra Elena C. Escobar
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  2. Vilma M. Santos
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  4. Marcelo F. Fernandes
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  5. Uided Maaze T. Cavalcante
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  6. Leonor C. Maia
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Correspondence to Indra Elena C. Escobar.

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Escobar, I.E.C., Santos, V.M., da Silva, D.K.A. et al. Changes in Microbial Community Structure and Soil Biological Properties in Mined Dune Areas During Re-vegetation. Environmental Management 55, 1433–1445 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-015-0470-8

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