Anthropic Interventions Change Biological Quality and Organic Matter Characteristics of Savanna Palm Swamps (Vereda) Soils from Central Brazil

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Veredas are tropical wetlands that are important for storing water and organic carbon. However, the intensification of anthropic activities in their surroundings threatens their important ecosystem services. This study investigated the soil quality of veredas under different environmental conditions (preserved and anthropized) in central Brazil taking into account chemical and microbiological attributes in the soil surface layers. Samples corresponding to the surface layer of four veredas in different environmental conditions were collected and the chemical and spectroscopic characterization of organic matter, microbial biomass and soil respiration and enzymatic activity were analyzed. The soils of the anthropized veredas showed changes in microbiological attributes and organic matter characteristics compared to the preserved vereda. Reductions of 95% in organic carbon, 2.3 times in microbial biomass and 74% in the activity of the enzymes dehydrogenase, β-glucosidase and acid phosphatase and microbial stress were identified in the urban vereda (anthropized) when compared to the preserved vereda. Organic matter characteristics and microorganism-mediated activities were affected by changes in land use by agricultural or urban activities around the veredas. The evaluation of soil enzyme activity was the efficient and highly responsive indicator to changes in land use of the veredas.