Impacts of Traditional and New Land Uses on Dung Beetle Assemblages in the Brazilian Pantanal

Abstract

The Pantanal is one of the largest Neotropical seasonal freshwater wetlands on Earth, with high biodiversity. Livestock farming has historically been the main economic activity in the Pantanal, in large areas of exotic pastures, and more recently, new areas for soybean croplands were implemented in this biome. However, the impacts of the new areas with soybean crops on biodiversity are still unknown. Here, we used dung beetles, a recognised bioindicator group, to assess the effect of the exotic pastures and soybean croplands on biodiversity in the Brazilian Pantanal. For this, we sampled dung beetles in January 2023 (rainy season) using standardised sampling protocols in the native grasslands, exotic pastures, and soybean croplands in Aquidauana municipality, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Our results show a consistent shift in dung beetle species composition and a reduction of abundant and dominant species from native grasslands to soybean croplands. These results indicate that the effects caused by soybean croplands are more severe on dung beetle biodiversity than exotic pastures, demonstrating that soybean croplands established in the Pantanal have severe negative consequences for biodiversity. Therefore, management of native grasslands and exotic pastures may be an alternative to avoid the loss of dung beetle biodiversity and to maintain livestock sustainable production in the Brazilian Pantanal. Finally, we highlight the importance of evaluating the effects of traditional and new agricultural systems on biodiversity for the development of more efficient, sustainable management and conservation strategies in the Brazilian Pantanal.