Identification of cyanobacteria in soils of the northeast region of the province of Córdoba

Abstract

The expansion of the agricultural frontier causes losses of biodiversity and native genetic resources, affecting the sustainability of the ecosystem. The presence and diversity of cyanobacteria are considered to be bioindicators sensitive to land use change. The objective of this work was to characterize the communities of cyanobacteria present in the soils in the northeast of the province of Córdoba, comparing soils with implanted pastures and in pristine conditions. Soil samples were taken in three locations, in environments with different levels of salinity: mild, moderateand saline. The samples were cultured in Watanabe medium, under controlled conditions to promote the growth of cyanobacteria. An Olympus BX 50 optical microscope was used for taxonomic identification. It was possible to identify the species of cyanobacteria present at each site, observing a dominance of heterocyst nitrogen fixators in soils with higher salinity. In turn, in the three native forest present at each site, greater species richness was observed. The most sensitive to the change in land use being Oscillatoria limosa and Phormidium constricta. Cyanobacteria constitute a future line of research related to the restoration and productive recovery of saline environments, under the focus of sustaining biodiversity.