Orchids comprise one of the largest families of flowering plants and have important roles in the total biomass, water balance, and nutrient cycling of tropical ecosystems; however, they are also one of the most endangered plant taxa. Because their diversity is strongly coupled to environmental factors, we hypothesize that local elevation can affect the diversity of these organisms. The purpose of this research was to compare the orchid species diversity at 1200, 1400, and 1700 m of elevation, corresponding to a sandstone plateau of the Cordillera del Cóndor that hosts a great orchid diversity. For each elevation, three plots of 0.1 ha were established. Each plot was subdivided into 25 subplots, and 8 were randomly selected, wherein all orchid species were counted and identified. The results obtained revealed the existence of 119 species belonging to 54 genera and a total of 867 individuals. The greatest diversity of species was found at an elevation of 1700 with 63 species, followed by 1400 m with 52 species, with the least diversity at an elevation of 1200 m with 39 species. Orchid composition differed significantly among the three elevations related to more humidity at higher elevations (e.g., 1700 m). More importantly, twenty-one species were the best candidate indicators of environmental conditions (e.g., Maxillaria grayi, Elleanthus oliganthus, Maxillaria mapiriensis, Stelis pittieri, Stelis ortegae) in this region. We conclude that orchid communities in sandstone plateau forests in the Shagmi Range of the Cordillera del Cóndor are mainly limited by elevation.

This article presents the use of local resources present in rural and urban environments, and their transformation into biofertilizers, to achieve significant learning in various areas from an interdisciplinary perspective, especially those related to nature and the environment. Effective tools are proposed for students with limited access to technological resources, as in this case, the elaboration of organic fertilizers. The reality imposed by the pandemic is projected, forcing the educational sector to face new challenges, which together with the existing ones, leads to propose educational strategies adapted to this new reality. It also highlights the importance of the role of the teacher in the process of using locally generated organic material, both in urban and rural schools. Este artículo presenta el aprovechamiento de recursos locales presentes en entornos, rurales y urbanos, y su transformación hacia bioabonos, para alcanzar un aprendizaje significativo en diversas áreas desde una perspectiva interdisciplinaria, en especial las relacionadas con la naturaleza y el medio ambiente. Se proponen herramientas efectivas para estudiantes con acceso limitado a recursos tecnológicos, como lo es en este caso, la elaboración de abonos orgánicos. Se proyecta la realidad que nos ha impuesto la pandemia, obligando al sector educativo a enfrentar nuevos retos, que unidos con los ya existentes, lleva a plantear estrategias educativas adaptadas a esta nueva realidad. De igual manera, se resalta la importancia del rol de la persona docente, en el proceso de utilización de materia orgánica generada localmente, tanto en escuelas urbanas como rurales. Este artigo apresenta o uso de recursos locais presentes em ambientes rurais e urbanos, e sua transformação em biofertilizantes, para alcançar um aprendizado significativo em várias áreas a partir de uma perspectiva interdisciplinar, especialmente aquelas relacionadas à natureza e ao meio ambiente. Ferramentas eficazes são propostas para estudantes com acesso limitado aos recursos tecnológicos, como neste caso, a produção de fertilizantes orgânicos. A realidade imposta pela pandemia é projetada, forçando o setor educacional a enfrentar novos desafios, o que, juntamente com os existentes, leva a propor estratégias educacionais adaptadas a esta nova realidade. Também destaca a importância do papel do professor no processo de utilização de material orgânico gerado localmente, tanto em escolas urbanas como rurais.

The application of different sources of nutrients to the soil with varying degrees of solubility, as well as the use of organic and inorganic fertilizers, can generate different responses in agroecosystems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different fertilization options on the quality of forage in the conservation-based agroecosystems of neotropical savannas. Both perennial species Brachiaria dictyoneura and the legume Centrosema macrocarpum are associated with corn cultivation. Four fertilization treatments were evaluated within each cover crop, applying 150 kg ha-1 of nitrogen, 150 kg ha-1 of P2O5, 100 kg ha-1 of K2O, and varying the source of phosphorus, being the treatments distributed as follows: i) phosphoric rock, high dose of phosphorus (100% of P2O5 as phosphoric rock), ii) diammonium phosphate, high dose of P (50% of P2O5 as phosphoric rock and 50% as diammonium phosphate), iii) biological fertilization, low dose of P (25% of P2O5 as phosphoric rock and inoculation with biofertilizer based on native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, such as Gigaspora, Scutellospora, Acaulospora, and Glomus), and finally, iv) the unfertilized treatment. The results show that under direct sowing and the use of biological fertilization sources using phosphoric rock as a source of P, similar and even higher levels of raw protein can be reached than when using fertilization with soluble sources such as the diammonium phosphate, which induce greater sustainability of the cover biomass, being an alternative in the management of this types of agroecosystems.