De Barros J. A. auteur aut IRD De Medeiros E. V. auteur aut IRD Da Costa D. P. auteur aut IRD Duda G. P. auteur aut IRD Lima J. R. D. auteur aut IRD Dos Santos U. J. auteur aut IRD Antonino A. C. D. auteur aut IRD Hammecker Claude auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access The Brazilian dry forest occupies an area of about 1 million km(2) approximately 46% of which has been deforested. Many studies have been done on the effects of this on productivity and soil chemical attributes. However, little is known about soil enzymatic activity, which is sensitive to environmental changes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of deforestation using different levels of human disturbance on soil enzyme activities, organic carbon content, microbial biomass, and microbial community. We studied areas covered with forest (TDF), old grass (OG), or new grass (NG). Soils from NG had increased microorganisms, which restored important processes related to carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen cycling, so that they resembled those in the forested area. The results of this study showed that the conversion of forest to pasture with a high level of human disturbance could decrease the activities of beta-glucosidase, urease, alkaline phosphatase, and fluorescein diacetate in the soil by up to 87%, 66%, 62%, and 58%, respectively. These findings suggest that human disturbance can cause substantial changes in the enzymatic activity and microbial community in the soil. We suggest that maintaining grass pasture with low human disturbance should have fewer impacts on soil quality. specialized Microbial activity carbon cycling low-disturbance pasture microbial diversity fatty acids profiles BRESIL PERNAMBUCO ZONE TROPICALE 068 074 082 66 4 ‏ 458-472 2020 0365-0340 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010076095 10.1080/03650340.2019.1622095 0365-0340 [F B010076095] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010076095 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/depot/2021-02-24/010076095.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2019-08-05 2025-02-24 fdi:010076095 fre