Publications by authors named "Ingrid Varela-Benavides"

We briefly review the history and development of recognizing nematode assemblages as indicators of environmental conditions. We highlight the effects of spatio-temporal successional changes in nematode assemblages on the auto-regeneration of ecosystem functions after disturbance. We expand on the need for herbivory components in the analysis of soil nematode assemblages in recognition of the important impact of plant parasitism on the resources and productivity of the soil system.

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The lack of knowledge about biological communities residing in soils, especially those in tropical regions, represents a constraint to management practices to take advantage of the ecological services provided by soil microbiota to agroecosystems. One of the complexities derived from describing biological diversity in such tropical conditions comes from the methods used to isolate microorganisms without altering the composition of the sample. The goal of this study was to establish a protocol for adequate soil sampling and environmental DNA extraction from a tropical region in Costa Rica.

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