Abstract Surface runoff in agricultural areas promotes the transport of biological structures, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) spores, along with mineral particles, nutrients, and organic matter. Limited information exists regarding the relationships between the erosive process and the loss of AMF spores at the hillslope scale, as well as the effect of terracing on these relationships. The objective of this study was to quantify the loss of AMF spores in surface runoff water from agricultural soil managed under no-till and terraced conditions. The research was conducted in the Ribeirão Vermelho watershed, in a hillslope area in Cambé, Paraná, Brazil. Two experimental plots measuring 2.5 hectares each were installed, with one managed without terraces (NTP) and the other with level terraces (TP). At the lower end of the plots, a runoff flow measurement structure (H-channel) was installed to determine the flow rate and suspended spore count. The runoff duration, peak flow rate, and spore count were determined during the period from October 2019 to October 2022. The terrace reduced over 35% of suspended spore loss, and the hysteresis pattern showed a counterclockwise loop in NTP and a clockwise loop in TP for events with higher peak flow rates. The hysteresis pattern indicated rapid spore mobilization and transport in TP, suggesting that spores originated from more distant sources or required more energy for transportation in NTP. Overall, there is evidence that the terrace influences spore variability on the hillslope, reinforcing the need for terracing in agricultural hillslope areas. structures (AMF particles nutrients matter scale notill no till conditions watershed Cambé Paraná Brazil 25 2 5 2. (NTP TP. . (TP) Hchannel H channel (H-channel duration 201 2022 35 rates Overall (TP 20 202 3

ABSTRACT Conservation agriculture is fundamental for improving agricultural sustainability. However, the quality of soil management in conservation agriculture systems is highly variable. The goal of this study was to verify whether a no-tillage participatory quality index (PQI) is associated with the physical, chemical, and microbiological attributes of soil. Thus, we sought to validate its use as an indicator of soil management quality. A survey was conducted to assess the agricultural practices of farmers from the western mesoregion of the state of Paraná, Brazil to evaluate the PQI. The quality of soil management for annual crops was related to the PQI, as evidenced by its association with soil physical, chemical, and microbiological attributes. These results confirmed the usefulness of the PQI methodology as a tool for assessing the quality of soil management, demonstrating its sensitivity to short-term changes in management practices. Consequently, this may allow for the monitoring of management quality and inferences about the beneficial effects of the implemented practices. sustainability However variable notillage no tillage (PQI physical chemical Thus Paraná shortterm short term Consequently

RESUMO A agricultura conservacionista é fundamental para melhorar a sustentabilidade agrícola. No entanto, a qualidade do manejo do solo em sistemas de agricultura conservacionista é altamente variável. O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar se o índice de qualidade participativa do plantio direto (IQP) está associado aos atributos físicos, químicos e microbiológicos do solo. Dessa forma, buscou-se validar sua utilização como indicador da qualidade do manejo do solo. Foi realizado um levantamento para avaliar as práticas agrícolas utilizadas por agricultores da mesorregião oeste do estado do Paraná, Brasil, para a obtenção do IQP. A qualidade do manejo do solo para as lavouras anuais está relacionada ao IQP, conforme evidenciado por sua associação com atributos físicos, químicos e microbiológicos do solo. Os resultados confirmaram a utilidade da metodologia do IQP como ferramenta de avaliação da qualidade do manejo do solo, demonstrando sua sensibilidade às mudanças de curto prazo nas práticas de manejo. Consequentemente, isso pode permitir o monitoramento da qualidade do manejo e inferências sobre os efeitos benéficos das práticas implementadas. agrícola entanto variável (IQP físicos forma buscouse buscou Paraná Brasil Consequentemente implementadas

ABSTRACT. Studies regarding soil quality and health often need to be up-to-date, as they feed new models for quantifying agricultural impacts on the environment. This study was established to understand how types of vineyard cultivation (organic and conventional) affect soil chemical and microbial attribute dynamics throughout different seasons. Vineyard management had a strong effect on chemical soil attributes. Organic carbon and phosphorus were 2.8 and 2.0 times greater, respectively, in organic vineyards than in conventional vineyards. Metabolic quotient (qCO2) values were lowest in summer and autumn, with an average of 2.31-2.49 µg C-CO2 h-1 g-1 soil, under organic management, indicating greater microbial growing efficacy. Regardless of season and sampling position, organic soil had a higher C microbial biomass than conventional vineyards, with values ranging from 179.79 to 284.71 µg g-1 soil, which were similar to those of the adjacent forest soil. Overall, there were increases in both the microbial and the chemical attributes of soil under organic vineyards compared relative to conventional management, which might have been due to the continuous input of organic matter, crop rotation, and alternative plant protection and fertilizer compounds used in organic farming.

ABSTRACT The diversification of plants, as an association between trees and the warm-season grasses, supports soil biodiversity and thus, soil quality. However, based on the prevailing climatic conditions, management techniques employed and because of the several combinations possible in such associations, variations may be observed in this type of response. This study aimed at assessing the microbiological attributes of the soil in two systems (full sunlight, FS, vs. a naturally shaded system composed of Eucalyptus dunnii trees), with two N fertilization levels (zero vs. 300 kg N ha-1year-1) and five perennial warm-season grasses. Soil and root samples were drawn from a depth of 0 to 20 cm when the growing period began. The N fertilization increased the mycorrhizal colonization and the acid phosphatase activity, whereas lowered the soil microbial biomass. A rise in the mycorrhizal colonization and sporulation and C microbial biomass concentration were observed in the soil cultivated with Axonopus catharinensis. The association with trees favored the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities, boosting both colonization and sporulation. However, compared with the FS, the soil microbial biomass and activity of the acid phosphatase enzyme were reduced under the trees. Silvicultural interventions could be intensified to enhance soil quality.

O sistema de integração lavoura-pecuária (ILP) tem se evidenciado como alternativa viável para a recuperação e manutenção das características do solo. Este estudo foi desenvolvido em um experimento de ILP conduzido pelo Instituto Agronômico do Paraná no município de Xambrê, PR, com diferentes intensidades de pastejo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o carbono da biomassa microbiana (CBM) e a atividade enzimática no solo, em sistema de integração lavoura-pecuária com soja cultivada no verão e Brachiaria ruziziensis no inverno, sendo esta submetida a diferentes intensidades de pastejo. Os tratamentos constaram de diferentes alturas de pasto e intensidades de pastejo: 10; 20; 30; e 40 cm (IP-10, IP-20, IP-30 e IP-40, respectivamente) e uma área sem pastejo (SP). Os atributos microbiológicos analisados foram CBM, respiração microbiana (RM), quociente metabólico (qCO2), atividade das enzimas fosfatase ácida, β-glucosidase, arilsulfatase, celulase e hidrólise do diacetato de fluoresceína (FDA). Após o segundo ciclo da pastagem, o tratamento IP-20 (intensidade moderada de pastejo 20 cm) apresentou os maiores teores de CBM e os menores de qCO2. Após o segundo ciclo da soja, o tratamento com maior intensidade de pastejo IP-10 demonstrou o menor teor de CBM. Os teores de CBM do solo na pastagem foram favorecidos pela inserção dos animais no sistema. A alta intensidade de pastejo (10 cm de altura da pastagem) durante o ciclo da pastagem pode provocar redução no C microbiano do solo, com efeito negativo sobre a mesma na cultura sucessora. Entre as enzimas avaliadas, somente a arilsulfatase e celulase foram sensíveis para avaliar o manejo ILP, com diferenças entre os tratamentos com intensidade moderada de pastejo (IP-20) e a área sem pastejo.

Integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLs) are a viable strategy for the recovery and maintenance of soil characteristics. In the present study, an ICL experiment was conducted by the Instituto Agronômico do Paraná in the municipality of Xambre, Parana (PR), Brazil, to evaluate the effects of various grazing intensities. The objective of the present study was to quantify the levels of microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and soil enzymatic activity in an ICL of soybean (summer) and Brachiaria ruziziensis (winter), with B. ruziziensis subjected to various grazing intensities. Treatments consisted of varying pasture heights and grazing intensities (GI): 10, 20, 30, and 40 cm (GI-10, GI-20, GI-30, and GI-40, respectively) and a no grazing (NG) control. The microbial characteristics analysed were MBC, microbial respiration (MR), metabolic quotient (qCO2), the activities of acid phosphatase, β-glucosidase, arylsuphatase, and cellulase, and fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis. Following the second grazing cycle, the GI-20 treatment (20-cm - moderate) grazing intensity) contained the highest MBC concentrations and lowest qCO2 concentrations. Following the second soybean cycle, the treatment with the highest grazing intensity (GI-10) contained the lowest MBC concentration. Soil MBC concentrations in the pasture were favoured by the introduction of animals to the system. High grazing intensity (10-cm pasture height) during the pasture cycle may cause a decrease in soil MBC and have a negative effect on the microbial biomass during the succeeding crop. Of all the enzymes analyzed, only arylsuphatase and cellulase activities were altered by ICL management, with differences between the moderate grazing intensity (GI-20) and no grazing (NG) treatments.

O objetivo neste trabalho foi de avaliar o efeito da inoculação de fungos micorrízicos arbusculares no crescimento de mudas de peroba rosa (Aspidosperma polyneuron). O experimento foi conduzido em delineamento experimental, inteiramente casualizado, em casa de vegetação com seis repetições. Utilizou-se mistura de solo e areia (3:1), desinfestado como substrato, com os seguintes tratamentos de inoculação: Gigaspora margarita, Glomus clarum, Scutellospora heterogama, Acaulospora scrobiculata e uma mistura de fungos micorrízicos arbusculares (FMA). Após 120 dias, observou-se que a colonização micorrízica radicular foi de 28,3% a 48,4% para a mistura de FMA e para G. margarita, respectivamente. As plantas inoculadas com G. margarita e G. clarum apresentaram maior crescimento, indicando o potencial da inoculação desses fungos na produção de mudas.

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation on Aspidosperma polyneuron seedlings growth. The experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions in a randomized design using a disinfected mixture of soil + sand (3:1) with the following treatments: Gigaspora margarita, Glomus clarum, Scutellospora heterogama, Acaulospora scrobiculata, a mixture of arbuscular mycorrhizae fungi (AMF) and a non-inoculated control with six replicates. After 120 days of seed germination, it was observed that root colonization was from 28.3% to 48.4% for mixture of AMF and G. margarita, respectively. The plants inoculated with G. margarita or G. clarum showed higher growth than other treatments, which evidence the potential of AMF inoculation in seedlings production.

O conhecimento das comunidades de fungos micorrízicos arbusculares (FMA) depende dos esporos, que podem ou não ser recolhidos na coleta. Este trabalho teve como objetivo determinar a diversidade de espécies de FMA a partir do exame de amostras do campo e de culturas-armadilha. Foram coletadas cinco amostras de solo em três áreas, a fim de isolar os esporos e realizar a multiplicação dos FMA em vasos. Os esporos foram extraídos do solo via peneiramento úmido e centrifugação em sacarose, montados em lâminas e identificados. As comunidades de FMA foram avaliadas por meio de índices descritores de alfa e beta diversidade. Nas áreas I, II e III verificaram-se respectivamente 12, 17 e 15 espécies. Nos vasos foram isoladas seis espécies na área I, 12 na área II e 10 na área III. Constatou-se que o levantamento da diversidade de FMA é mais eficiente quando as duas técnicas são associadas.

Knowledge of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) communities depends of spores, which may not be available at the moment of collection. The main objective of this paper is the determination of AMF species diversity from direct collection carried out in the field and multiplication in pots. Five soil samples from three areas under no tillage were collected in order to isolate the spores and multiply the AMF in pots. Alfa and beta diversity indexes were used. The spores were extracted from the soil by wet-sieving and centrifugation in sucrose, mounted on semi-permanent slides and identified. In areas I, II and III, 12, 17 and 15 AMF species, respectively, were verified. In the multiplication pots, six species were isolated in area I, 12 in area II and 10 in area III. It was concluded that the survey of AMF diversity is more efficient when the both techniques are associated.

Práticas agrícolas que reduzam a degradação do solo e promovam sustentabilidade são importantes para os agrossistemas tropicais/subtropicais. O plantio direto (PD) diminui as perdas de solo e, se combinado com rotação de culturas pode proteger o solo da degradação físico-química provocada pela agricultura intensiva. A atividade enzimática do solo pode fornecer importantes informações de como o manejo do solo está afetando a decomposição da material orgânica e a ciclagem dos nutrientes. Assim, avaliou-se a atividade das enzimas amilase, celulose, arilsulfatase, fosfatase ácida e fosfatase alcalina em um experimento a campo, instalado em 1976 em Londrina, PR, que tem como tratamentos o preparo do solo (plantio direto ou convencional) nas parcelas e a rotação de culturas (soja/trigo, milho/trigo e algodão/trigo) nas subparcelas. Amostras de solos foram coletadas a 0-5, 5-10 e 10-20 cm de profundidade em 1997 e 1998. Na profundidade de 0-5 cm sob PD, observaram-se aumentos de 68% na atividade da amilase, 90% na celulase, 219% na arilsulfatase, 46% na fosfatase ácida e 61% na fosfatase alcalina. Observaram-se correlações significativas entre a atividade enzimática e o C-orgânico total do solo e o C e N da biomassa microbiana. Esses resultados evidenciam que a atividade enzimática do solo é um indicador sensível de alterações na qualidade do solo, promovidas pelo manejo.

Agricultural practices that reduce soil degradation and improve agricultural sustainability are needed particularly for tropical/subtropical soils. No-tillage planting causes minimal soil disturbance and combined with crop rotation may hold potential to meet these goals. Soil enzyme activities can provide information on how soil management is affecting the potential to perform the processes in soils such as decomposition and nutrient cycling. Soil enzyme activities were investigated in a split-plot experiment (3 replications) where tillage (no till and conventional) was the main plot and crop rotation (soybean/wheat, S/W; maize/wheat, M/W or cotton/wheat, C/W) was the subplot. The experiment was established in 1976 in southern Brazil. Soil samples were taken at 0-5, 5-10 and 10-20 cm depths in 1997 and 1998. The 0-5 cm layer under NT system showed increases up 68% for amylase, 90% for cellulase, 219% for arylsulfatase, 46% for acid phosphatase, and 61% for alkaline phosphatase. There were significant correlations of soil enzyme activities with total organic C, and C and N microbial biomass. These results showed that NT increased microbial activity and that soil enzyme activity is a sensitive indicator of alteration soil quality by management.

Avaliou-se a ocorrência de fungos micorrízicos arbusculares (FMAs) no solo rizosférico e nas raízes de cafeeiro (Coffea arabica L.) e de Crotalaria breviflora DC., cultivada na entrelinha como adubo verde. Amostras de solo rizosférico e raízes foram coletadas em julho de 1997, em parte de um experimento de longa duração conduzido no campo pelo Instituto Agronômico do Paraná, no município de Mirasselva, PR. Determinou-se a diversidade de FMAs, por meio da identificação morfológica dos esporos, a freqüência de ocorrência de populações de FMAs por meio da contagem direta de esporos no solo, e a colonização radicular. Extraiu-se DNA de raízes de cafeeiro colonizadas e não-colonizadas e de esporos de Acaulospora longula e Scutellospora gilmorei, coletados na rizosfera, realizando-se a PCR ("Polimerase chain reaction") com primers ITS ("Internal transcribed spacer") e comparando os perfis de bandas obtidos. O cultivo de crotalária na entrelinha do cafeeiro aumentou a concentração de esporos de FMAs na rizosfera do cafeeiro. A crotalária e o cafeeiro estimularam populações diferentes de FMAs. O gênero Acaulospora predominou na rizosfera do cafeeiro, e Scutellospora e Gigaspora na rizosfera da crotalária. Usando técnicas moleculares, foi possível caracterizar FMAs na rizosfera e nas raízes colonizadas do cafeeiro. O fungo micorrízico Scutellospora gilmorei, de ocorrência comum em cafeeiro e crotalária, não foi encontrado colonizando as raízes do cafeeiro. O uso de técnicas moleculares pode auxiliar no estudo da dinâmica populacional de FMAs no campo.

The sporulation and occurrence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was evaluated in the coffee trees (Coffea arabica L.) and Crotalaria breviflora DC. rhizosphere and roots. C. breviflora was intercropped for green manure of the coffee plants. Samples of rhizosphere soil and roots were collected in July of 1997 in a long-time experiment localized at the Instituto Agronômico do Paraná (IAPAR), in Mirasselva, PR, Brazil. The AMF diversity was determined through the morphologic identification of spores, the AMF occurrence frequency by the direct counting of spores in the soil, and the root colonization. To identify AMF in coffee roots, DNA from spores collected in the rhizosphere and from colonized coffee roots was extracted and used for PCR (Polimerase chain reaction) with ITS (Internal transcribed spacer) primers, comparing the obtained bands. The legume intercropping cultivation increased the spores concentration of AMF in the soil. Coffee and C. breviflora plants stimulated populations of different AMF in their rhizospheres. Scutellospora spp. and Gigaspora spp. were more abundant at the legume rhizosphere. Acaulospora spp. occurred more often in coffee plant rhizospheres. Using molecular techniques, it was possible to characterize AMF in the rhizosphere and in the colonized roots of the coffee plants. Scutellospora gilmorei, of common occurrence in coffee plants and C. breviflora, was not found colonizing the roots of coffee plants. Molecular techiniques can be of great help in the study of AM fungal dynamics in the field.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar os efeitos de diferentes densidades de população de cafeeiros (Coffea arabica L.) nas propriedades químicas, físicas e microbiológicas do solo. Amostras de um Latossolo foram coletadas na profundidade 0-20 cm em um experimento de campo onde estavam sendo avaliadas diferentes populações de cafeeiros. Os tratamentos foram 7.143, 3.571, 2.381, 1.786, 1.429, 1.190, 1.020 e 893 covas/ha. Os resultados demonstraram que o aumento da população de plantas por unidade de área aumentou o pH, o Ca, o Mg e o K trocáveis, o P disponível, o carbono orgânico, o teor de umidade e a colonização radicular por micorrizas, e diminuiu o Al trocável e a biomassa microbiana. Foram considerados como causas da melhoria da fertilidade do solo, sob cafeeiros adensados, o adequado controle da erosão, o correto manejo dos resíduos vegetais e a baixa lixiviação dos íons. O manejo da população de cafeeiros pode constituir uma estratégia importante para a recuperação da fertilidade dos solos ácidos do Paraná.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of coffee (Coffea arabica L.) population densities on the chemical and microbiological properties of an Oxisol. The work was carried out on soil samples of 0-20 cm depth originated from an experimental site which had been used for coffee tree spacing studies during 15 years, in Paraná State, Brazil. Eight coffee tree populations were evaluated: 7143, 3571, 2381, 1786, 1429, 1190, 1020, and 893 trees/ha. Increasing plant population increased soil pH, exchangeable Ca, Mg, K, extractable P, organic carbon, moisture content and coffee root colonization by vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and decreased exchangeable Al and microbial biomass. Such results were attributed to better erosion control, improved plant residue management and nutrient cycling, and decreased leaching losses. Increasing coffee tree population per unit of area has shown to be an important reclamation recuperation strategy for improving fertility of the acid soils in Paraná, Brazil.