Abstract
ABSTRACT Cerrado is the second largest biome in Brazil and is classified as a biodiversity hotspot. The establishment of hydroelectric power stations in Brazil originated degraded areas due to the removal of soil for construction of dams, in which native vegetation sometimes fails to reestablish due to the bad soil conditions. Sheep excrete most of the nutrients they ingest, such as phosphorus, calcium, potassium and nitrogen. This study aimed at investigating whether sheep dung contributes to the improvement of soil quality and stimulates the process of ecological succession in areas affected by the construction of the hydroelectric power station of Ilha Solteira. Four areas were selected, located at the Experimental Farm of Unesp Ilha Solteira/SP, and ten plots of 1 m2 each were established. From October 2014 to December 2015, five replicates received 150 g fresh sheep dung every 15 days. In December 2015 soil sample from top 0.10 m was collected for the determination of soil attributes. Aboveground biomass was also collected, separated into four functional groups, oven-dried and weighed. Data were analysed to check the effect of dung addition upon soil and vegetation variables. Dung addition stimulated the development of several functional groups and changed soil nutrient concentrations in all four studied areas.
Highlights
The Cerrado is the second largest biome in Brazil, occupying 22% of the Brazilian territory, with phytophysiognomies that vary from open grasslands to forests (Ribeiro & Walter, 1988)
This study aimed at investigating whether sheep dung contributes to the improvement of soil quality and stimulates the process of ecological succession in areas affected by the construction of the hydroelectric power station of Ilha Solteira
This research aims at investigating whether sheep dung introduction improves soil quality and stimulates primary succession in areas that are impacted by the construction of the hydroelectric power plant of Ilha Solteira, SP, located in the Experimental Farm of Unesp Ilha Solteira, in Selvíria, MS
Summary
The Cerrado is the second largest biome in Brazil, occupying 22% of the Brazilian territory, with phytophysiognomies that vary from open grasslands to forests (Ribeiro & Walter, 1988). The removal of approximately 8.6 m of the original soil profile for the construction of the foundation of the dam of the hydropower plant from Ilha Solteira - Usina Hidrelétrica de Ilha Solteira - effectively eliminated the vegetation of a massive area at the Experimental Farm of Unesp Ilha Solteira, located in the municipality of Selvíria in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul (Alves et al, 2012). This procedure has created edaphic and microclimatic characteristics that jeopardize the process of natural succession in the area. Limitations of nutrients and/ or water seem to hamper ecological succession in the studied area, since it is colonized by the bryophyte Brachymenium exile (Gomes Júnior et al, 2015), but plants forming higher vegetation are still very scarce
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