ABSTRACT The naturally fragile sandy soils of the Pampa Biome (PB) may be degraded with the introduction of poorly managed agricultural crops. Anthropic use can markedly decrease vegetation cover on sandy soils, leaving them more exposed to erosive agents. Decreases in organic matter content, biodiversity, and nutrient availability, increased soil compaction, and decreased water availability are also some of the impacts caused on PB soils by implementing poorly managed agricultural crops. In Rio Grande do Sul, in areas with sandier […]

ABSTRACT Soil is currently seen as the most relevant carbon sink and the most effective carbon stabilizer. In contrast, agriculture is the second largest C emitter, after burning of fossil fuels. This organic carbon (OC) introduced into the soil, mainly via organic matter (OM), is essential for several soil properties and plays an extremely important role in sandy soils. The objective of this study was to describe the changes in the amounts and pools of OC and the influence thereof […]

ABSTRACT Corn intercropped with Urochloa brizantha (Syn, Brachiaria brizantha) has been indicated as a suitable alternative management practice for rational land use in crop-livestock production systems in the Cerrado region of Brazil. An experiment was carried out in Maracaju, MS, Brazil to evaluate the effect of sequences of soybean/second-crop corn systems intercropped with Urochloa brizantha and the effects of forms of nitrogen on soil chemical and physical properties. A randomized block experimental design was used with four replications; treatments were […]

ABSTRACT The removal of thick layers of soil under native scrubland (Cerrado) on the right bank of the Paraná River in Selvíria (State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil) for construction of the Ilha Solteira Hydroelectric Power Plant caused environmental damage, affecting the revegetation process of the stripped soil. Over the years, various kinds of land use and management systems have been tried, and the aim of this study was to assess the effects of these attempts to restore the […]

Many forested areas have been converted to intensive agricultural use to satisfy food, fiber, and forage production for a growing world population. There is great interest in evaluating forest conversion to cultivated land because this conversion adversely affects several soil properties. We examined soil microbial, physical, and chemical properties in an Oxisol (Latossolo Vermelho distrófico) of southern Brazil 24 years after forest conversion to a perennial crop with coffee or annual grain crops (maize and soybeans) in conventional tillage or […]

Weed management in the coffee crop has a pronounced effect on soil physical quality, affecting its structural stability, among other properties. The aim of the present study was to assess the state of aggregation of primary particles of a Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo (LVA) [Oxisol] planted with coffee when subjected to various weed control methods. The weed control methods evaluated were biological control with Arachis pintoi L. (a forage crop close to the peanut) and Brachiaria decumbens; mechanical control with a disk […]

The Garanhuns Plateau in the Agreste region of the State of Pernambuco, Brazil is characterized by humid climatic conditions due to orographic rains, unlike the surrounding semiarid region. These soils are subjected to intense agricultural use and are extremely important for the regional economy. This study was carried out in the municipality of Brejão in the Agreste region with the aim of assessing changes in humic Haplustox soils subjected to different land uses. Four plots with different vegetation covers (native […]

The use of urban waste compost as nutrient source in agriculture has been a subject of investigation in Brazil and elsewhere, although the effects on soil physical and chemical properties and processes are still poorly known. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of application of urban waste compost and mineral fertilizer on soil aggregate stability and organic carbon and total nitrogen content of a Rhodic Hapludox under no-tillage in the northwestern region of Rio Grande do […]

Water-soluble polymers are characterized as effective flocculating agents due to their molecular features. Their application to soils with horizons with structural problems, e.g, a cohesive character, contributes to improvements in the physical quality and thus to the agricultural suitability of such soils. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the structural quality of soils with cohesive horizons of coastal tablelands in the State of Pernambuco treated with polyacrylamide (PAM) as chemical soil conditioner. To this end, three horizons (one […]

Unsuitable management practices have led to soil compaction and degradation of soil structure. Identifying properties that better represent these alterations are important for recovery of soil structure and for recommendation of practices to avoid damage to soil structure. The aim of this study was evaluate the effect of different soil uses on the structure and water properties of an Alfisol. The study was carried out in an Alfisol in the municipality of Butia in the “Serra do Sudeste” physiographic region […]