REGULAR ARTICLE The influence of litter quality on the relationship between vegetation and below-ground compartments: a Procrustean approach Francy J. G. Lisboa & Guilherme M. Chaer & Ederson da C. Jesus & Sérgio M. de Faria & Fernando S. Gonçalves & Felipe M. Santos & Alexandre F. Castilho & Ricardo L. L. Berbara Received: 17 July 2012 / Accepted: 4 October 2012 / Published online: 18 October 2012 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2012 Abstract Aims We used a Procrustean superimposition approach associated with regression analysis to test hypotheses regarding the relationship between plant communities and distinct below-ground compartments—soil chemis- try (SC) and soil microbial activity (SMA). Additionally, we evaluated litter chemical quality as an interface be- tween the above and below-ground compartments. Methods Plant community, and soil chemical and bio- chemical data from three post-mining degraded sites under reclamation and from one nearby forest site in the Brazilian Amazon Basin were analyzed. Results All studied sites presented distinct plant com- munity, litter quality, SC and SMA. Plant community consistently affected the below-ground variation in both SC and SMA compartments. The influence of litter quality was greater in the plant community ver- sus SMA relationship than in the plant community versus SC. Nevertheless, the SC affected significantly the SMA, but without influence of litter quality. Conclusions Differently from previous studies, our findings suggest that plant community and soil chemistry can affect the soil microbial activity independently. Spe- cifically for our study area, these results point to a rupture of the ‘in nested’ structure of the causal relationship between changes in vegetation, changes in the chemical litter quality, changes in the SC and the response of SMA. Keywords Plant community . Procrustean statistics . Soil microbial activity . Soil chemistry . Association metric Introduction Alterations in the litter quality as a function of changes in plant communities are argued to be the main link between Plant Soil (2013) 367:551–562 DOI 10.1007/s11104-012-1491-1 Responsible Editor: Gerlinde De Deyn. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11104-012-1491-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. F. J. G. Lisboa : R. L. L. Berbara (*) Soil Science Department, Institute of Agronomy, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, BR 465, km 7, Seropédica, RJ, Brazil e-mail: berbara@ufrrj.br F. J. G. Lisboa e-mail: agrolisboa@gmail.com G. M. Chaer : E. C. Jesus : S. M. de Faria Embrapa Agrobiologia, BR 465, km 7, Seropédica, RJ, Brazil F. S. Gonçalves : F. M. Santos Forests Institute, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, BR 465, km 7, Seropédica, RJ, Brazil A. F. Castilho Environmental Management Department of Vale S/A (GABAM), Núcleo Urbano Carajás, Parauapebas, PA, Brazil