title: Evaluation of pasture soil productivity in the semi-arid zone of Brazil by microbial analyses.
abstract: The productivity of a pasture soil (caatinga) located in the region of São João do Cariri, PB, Brazil was evaluated based an the following microbiological parameters: biomass (measured by fumigation-incubation method), activity (estimated from basal respiration and cellulose decomposition rate), qCO2, and Cmic : Corg ratio. This analysis demonstrated that livestock management in the 'caatinga' is probably causing environment damage by affecting the soil properties, reducing the microbial biomass and soil respiration and increasing the qCO2, affecting the recovery of this ecosystem.
authors.affiliation: Programa Regional de Pós-Graduação em Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente, Universidade Federal da Paraíba , João Pessoa, PB , Brasil.
authors.forename: Rômulo Gil
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: de Luna
authors.forename: Henrique Douglas Melo
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Coutinho
authors.forename: Breno Machado
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Grisi
keywords: biomass; caatinga; microbial activity; pasture; semi-arid