Caracterización de microorganismos benéficos de montaña y de plantas obtenidos en tres zonas del Área Protegida Comunitaria Tambillo

Abstract

Wildfires drastically alter vegetation and soil health, modifying the associated microbiota. This study aimed to characterize, under laboratory conditions, the consortia of beneficial microorganisms present in forest soil and in plant species Puya nutans, Baccharis sp., and Macleania rupestris across three zones (altered, transition, and unaltered) of the Tambillo Community Protected Area, and to evaluate their effect on the germination of Gentianella hyssopifolia seeds. An experimental investigation was conducted with 12 treatments. Samples were collected from the rhizosphere and phyllosphere of the species, as well as from the soil in each zone. Microbial consortia were tested on G. hyssopifolia seeds using the Zucconi test. The results showed that unaltered soil (T3) presented the highest richness and abundance (31 species; 0.53−3.96logCFU/ml), while in altered soil (T1), it decreased (26 species; 0.39−2.30logCFU/ml). A similar trend was observed in the plants: Baccharis sp. from the unaltered zone (T9) recorded 30 species and an abundance of 0.55−2.96logCFU/ml, compared to the altered zone (T7), where it was decreased to 14 species and 0.22−1.10logCFU/ml. In the germination test, the consortia from M. rupestris in the transition zone (T11) showed the greatest positive effect, with an efficacy 5.30 times higher than the control. These results indicate that wildfires significantly alter the microbial composition of the rhizosphere and phyllosphere, and that certain consortia can promote the germination of seeds of native species.

Keywords: Microbial consortia, Rhizosphere and Phyllosphere, Wildfire, Ecological restoratio