Negative plant-soil feedbacks are stronger in agricultural habitats than in forest fragments in the tropical Andes.

There is now strong evidence suggesting that interactions between plants and their species-specific antagonistic microbes can maintain native plant community diversity. In contrast, the decay in diversity in plant communities invaded by nonnative plant species might be caused by weakening negative feedback strengths, perhaps because of the increased relative importance of plant mutualists such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Although the vast majority of studies examining plant-soil feedbacks have been conducted in a single habitat type, there are fewer studies that have tested how the strength and direction of these feedbacks change across habitats with differing dominating plants. In a fragmented montane agricultural system in Colombia, we experimentally teased apart the relative importance of AMF and non-AMF microbes (a microbial filtrate) to the strength and direction of feedbacks in both native and nonnative plant species. We hypothesized that native tree species of forest fragments would exhibit stronger negative feedbacks with a microbial filtrate that likely contained pathogens than with AMF alone, whereas nonnative plant species, especially a highly invasive dominant grass, would exhibit overall weaker negative feedbacks or even positive feedbacks regardless of the microbial type. We reciprocally inoculated each of 10 plant species separately with either the AMF community or the microbial filtrate originating from their own conspecifics, or with the AMF or microbial filtrate originating from each of the other nine heterospecific plant species. Overall, we found that the strength of negative feedback mediated by the filtrate was much stronger than feedbacks mediated by AMF. Surprisingly, we found that the two nonnative species, Urochloa brizantha and Coffea arabica, experienced stronger negative feedbacks with microbial filtrate than did the native forest tree species, suggesting that species-specific antagonistic microbes accumulate when a single host species dominates, as is the case in agricultural habitats. However, negative feedback between forest trees and agricultural species suggests that soil community dynamics may contribute to the re-establishment of native species into abandoned agricultural lands. Furthermore, our finding of no negative feedbacks among trees in forest fragments may be due to a loss in diversity of those microbes that drive diversity-maintaining processes in intact tropical forests.

Land-use effect on hydropedology in a mountainous region of Southeastern Brazil / Efeito do uso do solo na hidropedologia em uma região montanhosa do sudeste do Brasil

ABSTRACT In Brazil, the Mantiqueira Range, southeastern region, shelters the last remnants of the ecologically important Upper Montane Tropical Forest. since extensive exploration that has been taking place in this biome for decades, the influence of land-use changes on hydropedology in these areas must be investigated once major land-use changes have been observed. This study aims to evaluate the land-use influence on soil drainable porosity (SDP) in a headwater watershed located in the Mantiqueira Range region, and to validate the proposed methods based on micromorphological and hydrological indicators. The native vegetation of the study area is Atlantic forest that occupies 62% of the area, and the remaining 38% has been used for pasture. Thirty nine combinations of environmental variables were tested, each one generating a map for predicting SDP. The performance of the spatial prediction of SDP was assessed using 20% of the data from the total number of samples collected throughout the watershed. The least values of SDP are due to the process of removal of native forest and replacement by pasture. Areas with high to moderate SDP are associated with native forest fragments demonstrating the effects of the Atlantic Forest on the water infiltration and groundwater recharge processes, given by the greater contribution of baseflow in a forested catchment located within the studied watershed. The analysis of soil micromorphological images provided useful supporting information on the soil porosity system and along with hydrological properties of the watershed helped understand the SDP behavior on subsurface and groundwater storage capacity.

RESUMO No Brasil, a Serra da Mantiqueira, abriga um dos últimos remanescentes da Floresta Tropical de Altitude. Devido a grande exploração que vem ocorrendo neste bioma há décadas, a influência na hidropedologia decorrente das mudanças do uso do solo deve ser investigada. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a influência do uso do solo na porosidade drenável do solo (PDS) em uma bacia hidrográfica localizada na região da Serra da Mantiqueira e validar os métodos propostos com base em indicadores micromorfológicos e hidrológicos. A vegetação nativa da área de estudo é a Mata Atlântica que ocupa 62% da área, e com os 38% restantes utilizados para pastagem. Trinta e nove combinações de variáveis ​​ambientais foram testadas, cada uma gerando um mapa para predizer a PDS. O desempenho da predição espacial da PDS foi avaliado utilizando 20% dos dados do número total de amostras coletadas em toda a bacia hidrográfica. Os menores valores de PDS são devidos ao processo de remoção de floresta nativa e substituição por pastagem. Áreas com altos a moderados valores de PDS estão associadas a fragmentos de florestas nativas que demonstram os efeitos da Mata Atlântica nos processos de infiltração de água e de recarga de água subterrânea na região da Mantiqueira, dada a maior contribuição do fluxo base em áreas florestadas. A análise micromorfológica do solo forneceu informações úteis sobre o sistema poroso do solo e as propriedades hidrológicas da bacia hidrográfica, ajudando a entender o comportamento da PDS e a capacidade de armazenamento em subsuperfícíe.

Four new species of terrestrial-breeding frogs of the genus Phrynopus (Anura: Terrarana: Craugastoridae) from Río Abiseo National Park, Peru.

We describe four new species of terrestrial-breeding frogs belonging to the genus Phrynopus from specimens collected on the eastern slopes of the Cordillera Oriental (2800-3850 m) near and within Río Abiseo National Park, Provincia Mariscal Cáceres, Departments of San Martín and La Libertad, northeastern Peru. All four species lack a visible tympanum and inhabit the upper ridges and slopes within or adjacent to the Park. Phrynopus anancites sp. nov. and P. capitalis sp. nov. inhabit the wet montane grasslands on the upper ridges and valleys from 3600 to 3850 m. Phrynopus anancites (SVL = 25.3 mm) has coarsely aerolated skin and olive green coloration and has small vomerine teeth, while P. capitalis (female SVL = 35.6 mm) is characterized by a large head, short limbs, and distinctive dorsal pattern. Phrynopus dumicola sp. nov. (female SVL = 25.3 mm) has a short head and dark colored body with granular skin on the flanks, and is known only from forest patches along the treeline from 3225 to 3550 m, whereas P. personatus sp. nov. (female SVL = 28.2 mm) has a dark facemask and bright yellow groin spots (possibly aposematic), and inhabits a narrow band of continuous tropical montane rain forest from 2890 to 3110 m. We report infection with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis from one specimen of P. dumicola collected in July of 1988. With the addition of these four new species, Phrynopus now includes 32 nominal species.

Stocks of carbon and nitrogen and partitioning between above- and belowground pools in the Brazilian coastal Atlantic Forest elevation range.

We estimated carbon and nitrogen stocks in aboveground biomass (AGB) and belowground biomass (BGB) along an elevation range in forest sites located on the steep slopes of the Serra do Mar on the north coast of the State of São Paulo, southeast Brazil. In elevations of 100 m (lowland), 400 m (submontane), and 1000 m (montane) four 1-ha plots were established, and above- (live and dead) and belowground (live and dead) biomass were determined. Carbon and nitrogen concentrations in each compartment were determined and used to convert biomass into carbon and nitrogen stocks. The carbon aboveground stock (C(AGB)) varied along the elevation range from approximately 110 to 150 Mg·ha(-1), and nitrogen aboveground stock (N(AGB)), varied from approximately 1.0 to 1.9 Mg·ha(-1). The carbon belowground stock (C(BGB)) and the nitrogen belowground stock (N(BGB)) were significantly higher than the AGB and varied along the elevation range from approximately 200-300 Mg·ha(-1), and from 14 to 20 Mg·ha(-1), respectively. Finally, the total carbon stock (C(TOTAL)) varied from approximately 320 to 460 Mg·ha(-1), and the nitrogen total stock (N(TOTAL)) from approximately 15 to 22 Mg·ha(-1). Most of the carbon and nitrogen stocks were found belowground and not aboveground as normally found in lowland tropical forests. The above- and belowground stocks, and consequently, the total stocks of carbon and nitrogen increased significantly with elevation. As the soil and air temperature also decreased significantly with elevation, we found a significantly inverse relationship between carbon and nitrogen stocks and temperature. Using this inverse relationship, we made a first approach estimate that an increase of 1°C in soil temperature would decrease the carbon and nitrogen stocks in approximately 17 Mg·ha(-1) and 1 Mg·ha(-1) of carbon and nitrogen, respectively.