Underground Explorers
Press coverage around SPUN and mycorrhizal fungal networks.
Diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the eastern Brazilian Amazon
Camila Pinheiro Nobre
Amazon biome, Maranhão state, Brazil
Cohort:
2024
project abstract
The Brazilian Amazon is under constant pressure from illegal logging and the opening up of new areas for cattle ranching and agribusiness. The part of this biome present in the state of Maranhão is limited to small areas such as the Gurupi Biological Reserve. Access to the diversity of fungi, especially arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, in this previously unrecorded area of tropical forest is important to (i) verify how AMF communities respond to anthropogenic impacts; (ii) select resilient species with potential for use in environmental regeneration strategies. Three land use types will be selected: Old-growth forest, secondary forest and a burned forest. During the dry season, each land use type will be sampled in triplicate, on hilltops and lowlands. Soil samples will be collected using the SPUN sampling protocol. DNA will be extracted from each soil sample and amplified for sequencing using Illumina. Glomerospores will also be collected for morphological identification. We will perform extraction and quantification of glomalin fractions and chemical and physical analysis of the soil.
Photo by Nathalia Segato on Unsplash