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Dryad

A “Dirty” Footprint: Soil macrofauna biodiversity and fertility in Amazonian Dark Earths and adjacent soils

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Aug 19, 2021 version files 599.17 KB

Abstract

Amazonian rainforests once thought to hold an innate pristine wilderness, are increasingly known to have been densely inhabited by populations showing a diverse and complex cultural background prior to European arrival. To what extent these societies impacted their landscape is unclear. Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs) are fertile soils found throughout the Amazon Basin, created by pre-Columbian societies as a result of more sedentary habits. Much is known of the chemistry of these soils, yet their zoology has been neglected. Hence, we characterised soil macroinvertebrate communities and activity in these soils at nine archaeological sites and adjacent reference soils in three Amazonian regions, totaling eighteen sampling sites. Furthermore, we characterized various soil chemical and physical properties associated with soil fertility.

The current dataset contains data on soil macroinvertebrate biodiversity (26 taxa), with a special focus on termites, earthworms and ants. It also contains data on soil macromorphology, bulk density and porosity, soil carbon, nitrogen, macro and micronutrients, magnetic susceptibility and apparent electrical conductivity. The results show similar overall macrofauna morphospecies richness in ADE and adjacent soils, but distinct communities in each soil type. They also show higher soil fauna activity in ADEs when compared to adjacent reference soils, associated with greater earthworm populations. Finally, they also confirm the well-known high soil fertility in ADEs compared with adjacent soils. Land use was an important determinant of both macrofauna biodiversity and soil fertility. These findings support the idea that humans have built and sustained a contrasting high fertility ecosystem that persisted until our days, altering biodiversity distribution patterns in Amazonia.