ABSTRACT Subtropical soils can have medium to high soil organic matter levels, which directly affects cation exchange capacity (CEC) and potassium (K) availability to plants. This generates the need to define K buffer capacity (KBC) values and K corrective rates to improve the fertilization recommendation system for these soils, ensuring high yields and reducing the likelihood of K losses in the environment. This study aimed to define KBC values and the K rates to be applied in corrective fertilization of […]

ABSTRACT The combination of pillarization and charge neutralization with Li+ can make montmorillonite an important support material for industry and decontamination of pollutants in soil and water. Montmorillonite characterization techniques were described in detail, and pillarization procedures were used, after Li+ saturation, to modify and manipulate the chemical and mineralogical surface properties of this montmorillonite. Eight samples were produced: 1) natural montmorillonite (Chisholm Mine – MMT); 2) Li+ saturated montmorillonite (MMTLi); 3) polyethylene glycol (PEG) Al-pillared montmorillonite (AlPEG); 4) PEG […]

In production systems such as the integrated crop-livestock system (ICL) under no-tillage, improvements have been observed in chemical, physical, and biological soil properties. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the changes in chemical and physical soil properties, as well as carbon (C) accumulation, in an Oxisol under irrigated conditions in the Cerrado (Brazilian tropical savanna) in an ICL system under no-tillage. The experiment was carried during the growing of 2010/2011, 2011/2012, and 2012/2013. A randomized block experimental design with four replications […]

The electrical charges in soil particles are divided into structural or permanent charges and variable charges. Permanent charges develop on the soil particle surface by isomorphic substitution. Variable charges arise from dissociation and association of protons (H+), protonation or deprotonation, and specific adsorption of cations and anions. The aim of this study was to quantify the permanent charges and variable charges of Reference Soils of the State of Pernambuco, Brazil. To do so, 24 subsurface profiles from different regions (nine […]

Weed control is one of the most intensive management practices in coffee plantations resulting in changes in soil chemical properties. The objectives of this study were: a) to assess the effects of weed management in a coffee plantation on the chemical properties of a Dystroferric Red Latosol (Oxisol) compared to soil under native forest; b) to verify the relationship between soil organic carbon content (COS) and the effective cation exchange capacity (effective CEC) and the cation exchange capacity at pH […]

Fertility properties, total C (Ctot), and chemical soil organic matter fractions (fulvic acid fraction – FA, humic acid fraction – HA, humin fraction – H) of anthropogenic dark earths (Terra Preta de Índio) of the Amazon basin were compared with those of Ferralsols with no anthropogenic A horizon. Terra Preta soils had a higher fertility (pH: 5.1-5.4; Sum of bases, SB: 8.93-10.33 cmolc kg-1 , CEC: 17.2-17.5 cmolc kg-1 , V: 51-59 %, P: 116-291 mg kg-1) and Ctot (44.6-44.7 g kg-1) than adjacent Ferralsols (pH: 4.4; SB: 2.04 cmolc kg-1, […]

Changes in the physical properties of soil, mainly related to water retention and soil aggregation, may be linked to changes in electrochemical soil properties. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of liming on the relationship between soil and water. In 1994, an experiment was installed in the experimental area of the Departamento de Solos da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, in a dystrophic plinthic Gray Acrisol. Treatments consisted in surface liming and lime incorporation at 0, […]

The metal pieces of coffins, such as handles and adornments, are considered the main source of soil heavy metal contamination. Other sources of pollutants are the products used in the body embalming, wood preservatives and fluids released from body decomposition. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clay fraction mineralogy and heavy metal contents of soils from Santa Cândida Municipal Cemetery, in Curitiba (PR), and estimate the contamination risk. The samples were collected at three depths (0-20, 20-80 […]

The humification degree and the chemical nature of organic residues are essential factors controlling their degradation and nutrient release. To characterize the organic matrix, samples of sewage sludge, poultry, pig, cattle and quail manure, besides commercial compost, organic substrate and humic material were analyzed for: pH, electric conductivity, cation exchange capacity (CEC), water retention capacity, concentration of total N and mineral N, organic matter, total organic carbon (TOC) and the TOC fractions: humic acid C-fraction; fulvic acid C-fraction, water soluble […]

The use of the pH SMP to estimate the potential acidity has advantages in relation to the 0.5 mol L-1, pH 7, calcium acetate method, but it requires previous edaphic regionalization to estimate the H + Al values with safety. In the northwestern region of the State of Paraná there are soils originally developed from sandy sedimentary rock of the Caiuá Formation, called Caiuá Sandstone, of the Cretaceous period. These soils are characterized by low contents of clay and organic matter, and a low buffer capacity, […]