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Environmental DNA Sequencing to Monitor Restoration Practices on Soil Bacterial and Archaeal Communities in Soils Under Desertification in the Brazilian Semiarid

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Abstract

Soils from Brazilian semiarid regions are highly vulnerable to desertification due to their geology, climate, human actions, and intensive land use that contribute to desertification. Therefore, areas under desertification have increased in the Brazilian semiarid region and it has negatively changed the soil bacterial and archaeal communities and their functionality. On the other hand, although restoration strategies are expensive and there are few soils restoration programs, some practices have been applied to restore these soils under desertification. For instance, conservationist practices and grazing exclusion have been strategically implemented, and they created a new altered soil condition for soil microbial communities, boosting soil microbial diversity. Here, we discuss the potential of these restoration strategies to recover the richness and diversity of soil bacterial and archaeal communities that were described through environmental DNA (eDNA) sequencing of soil samples. eDNA sequencing results show that areas where restoration strategies have been applied in regions under desertification in the Brazilian semiarid have increased species richness, diversity, and structure of the bacterial and archaeal community. In addition, network connectivity and functionality of the soil microorganisms have been improved over time. Altogether, we show that management strategies for soil restoration have positive effects on soil microbial communities and these effects can be monitored using the eDNA sequencing approach.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Centro de Genética e Bioinformática (CeGenBio) from Universidade Federal do Ceara (NPDM/UFC). Ademir S. F. Araujo, Arthur P. A. Pereira, Vania M. M. Melo, Erika V. Medeiros, and Lucas W. Mendes acknowledge Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnologico – CNPq (grants 305069/2018-1; 402646/2021-5; 313254/2021-4; 323422/2021-8; 307670/2021-0, respectively). Lucas W. Mendes acknowledges Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo—FAPESP (grants 2019/16043-7 and 2020/12890-4).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Soil Quality Lab., Agricultural Science Center, Universidade Federal Do Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, Brazil

    Ademir Sergio Ferreira Araujo

  2. Departamento de Ciência Do Solo, Universidade Federal Do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil

    Arthur Prudêncio de Araujo Pereira

  3. Laboratório de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal Do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil

    Vania Maria Maciel Melo

  4. Universidade Federal Do Agreste Pernambucano, Garanhuns, Pernambuco, Brazil

    Erika Valente de Medeiros

  5. Centro de Energia Nuclear Na Agricultura, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil

    Lucas William Mendes

Authors
  1. Ademir Sergio Ferreira Araujo
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  2. Arthur Prudêncio de Araujo Pereira
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  3. Vania Maria Maciel Melo
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  4. Erika Valente de Medeiros
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  5. Lucas William Mendes
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All authors contributed equally to this manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ademir Sergio Ferreira Araujo.

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Araujo, A.S.F., de Araujo Pereira, A.P., Melo, V.M.M. et al. Environmental DNA Sequencing to Monitor Restoration Practices on Soil Bacterial and Archaeal Communities in Soils Under Desertification in the Brazilian Semiarid. Microb Ecol 85, 1072–1076 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-022-02048-y

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