Resistencia y Resiliencia de comunidades microbianas del suelo a la degradación por pastoreo y sus efectos sobre el secuestro de carbono del suelo en bosques tropicales secos

Understanding the effects of interactions between vegetation, soil, and microbial communities on soil carbon sequestration and its feedbacks with forest degradation is vital for understanding the consequences of global warming and its mitigation. TRILOBITE studies the effects of degradation on soil carbon storage (SOC) along degradation and recovery gradients in tropical dry forest. To do this, TRILOBITE uses a well-defined and replicated grazing degradation gradient with grazing exclusion plots in Ecuador which were established within the framework of two other research projects (SUCCESSOR and SUCSOC). The resistance and resilience patterns of i) SOC fraction storage, ii) carbon-related microbial dynamics, iii) fallen leaves decomposition, and iv) soil microorganism diversity and phylogenetic divergence are studied. TRILOBITE will contribute to our understanding of the feedbacks that degradation and secondary succession may have on the carbon cycle. This data is vital because SOC carbon sequestration is one of the significant universal indicators of land and soil degradation, which compromises efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially those related to food, health, water, climate and land use management.