Impacts of land use and of the Babassu palm on microbial community composition and function and on soil quality in Maranhão State, eastern periphery of Amazonia

Research is a the interface between traditional ecology (vegetation, soil physico-chemistry, macro fauna and meso fauna) and molecular soil microbial ecology (soil and rhizosphere microbiomes, environmental genomics/post-genomics) and focuses on (i) plant:soil interactions in agroforestry and spontaneous secondary forest regrowth, and (ii) ecology and sustainable management of the Babassu palm (dominant throughout the Amazonian ‘arc of deforestation’).

Theme: 

Microbiomes, Global environmental change, Restoration

Funding

CAPES/BRAZIL (International collaboration Netherlands/Brazil)

Research team

Mattias de Hollander

Eiko Kuramae

Marcio Leite

Agata Pijl

Hans van Veen