Abstract INTRODUCTION: Mosquitoes are vectors of several pathogens in tropical regions. However, information on Culicidae in the northeast region of Brazil is scarce despite many municipalities having environmental conditions favorable for these insects. METHODS: We collected mosquitoes monthly for one year from urban, ecotonal, and ecological reserve areas in Moreno, Brazil, by using CDC Miniature light traps, aspiration, ovitraps, and liquid suction. RESULTS: We collected 1,401 insects in the Culicidae family. Fifteen species of seven genera of Culicidae were identified and five specimens were identified only at the genus level. CONCLUSIONS: There is a wide diversity of mosquito species in the sampled areas, some of which are important for human health.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of metallurgical industry wastes on the semiarid soil microbiota using physico-chemical and microbiological parameters, highlighting the filamentous fungi assembly. Soil samples were collected in an area of industrial waste deposit contaminated with lead and mixed with natural soil (control soil) in seven different concentrations (0, 7.5, 15, 30, 45, 60 and 100%). The results showed alterations on the physico-chemical properties of the soil treated with industrial wastes, with a gradate increase of the soil's pH (5.6-10.4) and electrical conductivity (0.3-14.7 dS m-1) and also reduction of organic matter (7.0-1.8%). The use of microbiological parameters (fungal richness and diversity, CO2emission, and the carbon on the microbial biomass) enabled the identification of alterations on the microbial community due to stress caused by the exposure to industrial wastes, despite the presence of Thielavia, Chaetomium and Aspergillus tolerant to high concentrations of the scoria. Therefore, these filamentous fungi could be used in biomonitoring and bioremediation studies in the soils contaminated by industrial wastes.

Métodos para avaliar a atividade microbiana no solo são fundamentais no monitoramento ambiental de áreas degradadas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a atividade microbiana de solo do semi-árido cultivado com Atriplex nummularia Lindl. em áreas que receberam rejeito salino durante um e três anos, em comparação com um solo nativo, sem cultivo e não irrigada. O solo cultivado por três anos e que recebeu rejeito salino apresentou, no período seco, valores de pH, CE e atividade de hidrólise do diacetato de fluoresceína (FDA) superiores aos das demais áreas. No entanto, foi observada correlação negativa entre o carbono microbiano e os valores do quociente metabólico (qCO2). A biomassa microbiana e a fosfatase alcalina também foram superiores no solo cultivado por três anos e que recebeu rejeito salino em relação ao solo nativo sem irrigação, confirmando o desempenho de plantas halófitas na melhoria da qualidade do solo sob condições de estresse salino. O cultivo de A. nummularia constitui uma das alternativas para utilização de rejeito salino proveniente da dessalinização por osmose reversa.

Methods used to estimate the soil microbial activity are important to environmental monitoring of degraded areas. The objective of this research was to investigate the microbial activity of a semiarid soil cultivated with Atriplex nummularia Lindl. in a field receiving saline waste during one and three years, in comparison with an area without crop and irrigation. Soil cultivated during three years presented, during the dry season, values of pH, CE, and activity of FDA hydrolyses higher than those registered in other areas. However, a negative correlation between the microbial carbon and values of qCO2 was observed. The microbial biomass and the alkaline phosphates were also higher in the three years cultivated soil, in comparison with the native soil, non irrigated, confirming the role of halophytes for enhancing quality of soils under saline stress. Thus, the cultivation of A. nummularia is an alternative for using saline waste from the desalinization process.