Author(s)

Carolina Belfiore¹, Ana Fernandez¹, Ana Paula Santos¹, Manuel Contreras², María Eugenia Farías^1*

¹Laboratorio de Investigaciones Microbiològicas de Lagunas Andinas (LIMLA), Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiològicos (PROIMI-CONICET), Tucumaán, Argentina.
²Centro de Ecologiía Aplicada (CEA), Suecia, Chile.

Cerro Tocorpuri, belongs to the II region of Chile, in San Pedro de Atacama, on the border of Chile-Bolivia. The presence of a more or less constant supply of water conditions the existence of characteristic vegetation systems known as bogs (bofedales, vegas and marshes). These wetlands have a cultural, environmental and economic social importance. As a result of the exploitation of aquatic rights, peatlands began to dry up with the consequent loss of natural resources and damage to ancestral rights, and natural resources. The activities of microorganisms in wetlands play an important role in biogeochemical processes. The interaction between microbial diversity and soil, influences to the ability of the ecosystem to recover from stress (resilience). In the present work, the soil characteristics and the associated microbial biodiversity were studied, comparing samples of active and deteriorated peatland. It was seen that the loss of water causes great changes in the physical-chemical characteristics of the soil, which leads to a modification of the microbiota Proteobacteria decreased by 18% in deteriorated peatlands, which are evident more sensible to extreme conditions while Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria increased in these sample showing a better adaptation to the change of conditions. In view of the fact that high Andean Peatlands are exposed to increasing environmental impact, this preliminary comparative study of pristine and altered soil could guide the research directed to recovery of dead peatlands strategies.

Peatland, Microbial Diversity, Altered Soil

Belfiore, C. , Fernandez, A. , Santos, A. , Contreras, M. and Farías, M. (2018) Characterization and Comparison of Microbial Soil Diversity in Two Andean Peatlands in Different States of Conservation-Vega Tocorpuri. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 6, 194-210. doi: 10.4236/gep.2018.64012.