Soil organisms play an important role in various natural processes responsible for ecosystem sustainability. This fact justifies the study of these organisms with the goal of applying this knowledge to the development of sustainable agriculture.

The title of this project is: "Conservation and sustainable Management of Below-Ground Biodiversity", it is implemented by the Global Environment Facility of the "United Nations Program (UNEP)" and executed in seven countries: Brazil, Ivory Coast, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico and Uganda. In Brazil, it is coordinated by Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA). The following institutions are involved: INPA (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisa da Amazônia), UFAM (Universidade Federal do Amazonas), EMBRAPA-Solos, FURB (Universidade Regional de Blumenau), UnB (Universidade de Brasília), CENA (Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura) and CEULM/ULBRA.

The Brazilian team involves about 100 people: scientists, students (undergraduate and graduate), and technicians.

The study site is located in the municipality of Benjamin Constant, Amazonas State, and involves two small agricultural communities: Nova Aliança and Guanabara II (see satellite image).