| Abstract: | A degraded riparian area in the Uberaba River basin (Brazil) was restored by local landowners using a monoculture of the exotic species Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels over 15 years. To assess this riparian restoration, we compared this experimental site (ES ) with a disturbed site (DS ) and a preserved site (PS ) with regard to soil organic matter, humic and fulvic acids (HA and FA ), glomalin, soil aggregation and porosity. The results did not show significant differences between ES and PS with regard to soil aggregation and porosity. The cation exchange capacity and the HA and FA contents of ES were significantly different from those in PS and DS . Whereas the HA content of ES was less than that in PS , FA was significantly increased. The order of aromatic composition of humic substances by site was PS > ES > DS and contrasted with the aliphatic composition, which was DS > ES > PS . A principal component analysis based on all variables demonstrated that ES was closer to PS than to DS but that there was no overlap among sites, as PS was driven by humic aromatic substances and the experimental site by fulvic and aliphatic compounds. We concluded that there was a functional recovery of ecosystem services related to soil aggregation and porosity, but the qualitative differences in organic matter formation between the restored and preserved sites were not consistent with ES being fully restored. |
