Carolina Brandani

• Soil Scientist
• Associate Research Scientist at Texas A&M Agrilife

Background Soil animal communities include more than 40 higher-order taxa, representing over 23% of all described species. These animals have a wide range of feeding sources and contribute to several important soil functions and ecosystem services. Although many studies have assessed macroinvertebrate communities in Brazil, few of them have been pu...

Soil animal communities include more than 40 higher-order taxa, representing over 23% of all described species. These animals have a wide range of feeding sources and contribute to several important soil functions and ecosystem services. Although many studies have assessed macroinvertebrate communities in Brazil, few of them have been published in...

Northeast Colorado’s livestock operations have been identified as a major contributor to reactive nitrogen deposition in the Rocky Mountains National Park (RMNP). We present a review on the state of knowledge concerning the emission, transport, deposition, and mitigation of gaseous ammonia (NH3) from open-lot cattle feeding facilities located east...

The study’s objective was to investigate the use of Internet of Things (IoT) biosensors using Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRa-WAN) communication to compare the foraging behavior of two desert adapted cattle breeds. Two groups of mature Brangus (BA) and Raramuri Criollo (RC) cows were introduced into a small irrigated pasture (38ha) at the New Me...

Rangelands used for cattle grazing in Florida are typically managed under prescribed fire to increase forage production and nutritive value while preventing shrub encroachment. Sustainability of extensively managed, low-input native rangelands is highly dependent on nutrient cycling through plant litter decomposition, which is often constrained by...

Background- Prescribed burning is a widely used management strategy to maintain ecosystem function and reduce the risks of wildfire. However, fire can alter soil microbial community, with subsequent impacts on soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) cycling. We examined the short-term effects of prescribed burning on selected soil chemica...

Quantifying spatial and temporal fluxes of phosphorus (P) within and among agricul- tural production systems is critical for sustaining agricultural production while min- imizing environmental impacts. To better understand P fluxes in agricultural land- scapes, P-FLUX, a detailed and harmonized dataset of P inputs, outputs, and budgets, as well as...

Grazing lands, including the native rangelands, cover an extensive area of the southeastern United States, representing an important component of the carbon balance for the region. In Florida, native rangelands extend over 3.1 Mha, experiencing a natural fire frequency between 2 – 5 years and a strong climatic variability. Management includes presc...

This study investigated the integration of Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRa WAN) communication technology and sensors for use as Internet of Things (IoT) platform for Precision Livestock-Farming (PLF) applications. The research was conducted at New Mexico State University's Clayton Livestock Research Centre. The functionality of LoRA WAN communic...

Brazilian beef production has been recognized as an important path to achieve environmental, social and economic sustainability, and to ensure food security. Although, traditionally, beef production in Brazil has relied on unmanaged pastures (i.e. extensive pasture), a growing demand for beef combined with increased competition for land to grow cro...

Use of adapted beef cattle biotypes is gaining momentum as a novel management strategy for limiting the environmental footprint of ranching and adapting to climate change in the southwest. We compared supplement intake (SI), calf birthweights, cow weights, and body condition scores (BCS) of desert-adapted Brangus (BR; n = 15) vs. Raramuri Criollo (...

The contribution of termites to the global balance of greenhouse gases, which is aggravated by large seasonal variations in their emissions, remains unclear. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the influence of termite mounds on CH4, CO2 and N2O emissions and to analyze their diurnal variations over a 9-month (249-day) period in a transit...

Beef cattle production in Florida consists of extensively managed cow-calf operations where animals are stocked on native and planted pastures with minimal P inputs. Despite the extensive literature documenting multiple benefits of cow-calf systems, concerns exist regarding their negative impacts on water quality, especially P in ecologically sensi...

The fungal community plays an important role in forest ecosystems via the provision of resources to plant nutrition and productivity. However, the ecology of the fungal network and its relationship with phosphorus (P) dynamics remain poorly understood in mixed forest plantations. Here, we analyzed the fungal community using the amplicon sequencing...

Litter decomposition, particularly from belowground pools, is a key process controlling the flow of nutrients and the sustainability of native and cultivated grazinglands. This study evaluated in situ belowground decomposition of saw‐palmetto (Serenoa repens [W. Bartram] Small) and bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flügge; BG), which corresponded to the...

Although perennial bioenergy crops provide a potential for soil C sequestration, high fertilizer inputs are required to sustain yields. Land application of bioenergy byproducts can be an effective strategy to reduce the use of inorganic fertilizer. This study examined the impacts of elephantgrass [Pennisetum purpureum (L.) Schum.] bioenergy croppin...

Increased grazing land management intensification through the selection of productive species and the use of N affects the amount and quality of C and N inputs to the soil. This study evaluated the short‐term impacts of litter quality on litter decomposition and C and N distribution among soil size–density fractions. A 168‐d litter bag mesocosm exp...

The introduction of N2-fixing species in fast-growing eucalypt plantations is a strategy where eucalypt growth is limited by N availability. The objective of this chapter is to gather some results obtained in the last decade regarding above- and belowground mixed forests of Eucalyptus and Acacia mangium growth in Brazil and to give insights into th...

Recent evidence suggests an upward trend in surface water phosphorus (P) concentrations in many segments of Florida, including the upper basin of the St. Johns River, a region that currently receives about two‐thirds of the state Class B biosolids land application. Concerns about water quality in this area are encouraging reexamination of the regul...

ABSTRACT The generation of sewage sludge and the concern with their fate has greatly increased. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of using in natura (SS) or composted sewage sludge (SSC) in comparison with mineral fertilizer (MF) application and a control (CT) treatment on the nutritional status of Guanandi (Calophyllum brasilie...

Mixing N-fixing trees with eucalypts is an attractive option to improve the long-term soil N status in fast-growing plantations established in tropical soils. A randomized block design was replicated at four sites in Brazil to compare the biogeochemical cycles in mono-specific stands of Eucalyptus (100E) and Acacia mangium (100A) with mixed-species...

The use of organic amendments is important for the sustainability of organic farming, with implications for soil organic matter turnover, nutrient cycling and greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions to the atmosphere. Here, we investigated how long-term citrus organic farming influenced carbon sequestration and GHG emissions under organic and conventiona...

The risks of sugarcane management on soil microbes and their relationships with soil physicochemical factors and biogeochemical processes have not been described from an integrated perspective for different agronomic practices. Here, we provide a platform for multi-analytical interactions between ecologists analyzing the soil microbes at multiple e...

Intercropping forest plantations of Eucalyptus with nitrogen-fixing trees can increase soil N inputs and stimulate soil organic matter (OM) cycling. However, microbial indicators and their correlation in specific fractions of soil OM are unclear in the tropical sandy soils. Here, we examined the microbial indicators associated with C and N in the s...

Most eucalypt plantations are managed in short rotations (6–8 years) and are established in regions with water and nutritional stresses of varying degrees. The mean annual increment in these regions ranges from 20 to 45 m3 ha−1 y−1 depending on the level of environmental stress. Improving natural resource use efficiency by breeding and matching gen...

The Brazilian forestry sector has expanded to the Cerrado biome regions, where the soils are highly acid, with a high exchangeable Al content and a general nutritional deficiency. Nevertheless, the levels of soil organic matter (SOM) under the forest plantings are generally high and may play an important role in the complexation of Al in the soil s...

Spatially dependent data are predominant in soil science and prone to biased inferences from standard statistical analysis. Thus, the aims of this study were: to model the spatial dependency among soil sampling points using a Bayesian conditional autoregressive (CAR) prior; and to determine the effects of different sugarcane management systems on s...

Forest residues (i.e. harvest residues and litter) are important nutrient sources for trees because soils of poor fertility are used for eucalypt plantations in Brazil. Understanding the dynamics of decomposition for these residues and their effects on soil fertility are relevant for the management of forest plantations. The objectives with this st...

Brazilian sugar cane production has undergone changes in residue management. To better understand the dynamics of soil C and N in soil organic matter (SOM) fractions resulting from sugar cane management practices, we determined: the effects of different sugar cane management on the C and N content of SOM fractions; the effects of crop management, s...

Newer methods of management and harvesting of sugarcane are being considered to improve soil and water conservation in Brazil. Our aim in this study was to evaluate soil C dynamics under sugarcane cultivation as influenced by the use of conservation management, using measurements from four different management systems and land use histories, i.e.,...

The modern concepts of soil quality and agricultural sustainability must be viewed in a broad form that includes the needs for increasing agronomic productivity, improving resource conservation, and enhancing environmental quality. This view unquestionably highlights the role that soil organic matter (SOM) plays as an important component of the agr...

The substitution of the native Cerrado (Brazilian savanna) vegetation by planted eucalyptus forests can influence the C and N pools in the different soil organic matter (SOM) fractions. However, the intensity and direction of this change depend on the soil type, climate, and management techniques in the planted area. The objective of this study was...

The substitution of the native Cerrado (Brazilian savanna) vegetation by planted eucalyptus forests can influence the C and N pools in the different soil organic matter (SOM) fractions. However, the intensity and direction of this change depend on the soil type, climate, and management techniques in the planted area. The objective of this study was...