The activity of the avifauna on terrestrial ecosystems results in the intense chemical and mineralogical alteration of mineral substrates. The objective of the present work is to investigate the impact of the avifauna on landscape evolution at the Abrolhos Archipelago, based on soils chemical characteristics and spatial distribution. A total of 10 soil profiles are described and analyzed, representing the main landscape units present in the Archipelago. Based on careful field observation and interpretation made on the existing nautical map (n.1311), produced by the Brazilian Navy (scale 1:100.000), detailed soil maps were produced. The widespread occurrence of strongly ornithogenic soils in areas without current nesting activity indicates a much broader occupation by birds in the past. Some of the studied soils are of difficult classification, and reflect the marked influence of present-day and past avifauna activity.
Avifauna; terrestrial ecosystems; islands; ornithogenic; submersed soils
