Eucalyptus and acacia species are widely used in agrosilviculture and reforestry practices. In order to evaluate the reconstitution of organic soil layers – i.e. the humic horizons -and establish relationships to the soil properties, the holorganic and hemiorganic horizons were sampled under Acacia mangium and Eucalyptus grandis plantations. These plantations lie in the tertiary tableland region in the North of Espírito Santo State, Brazil, and are part of the Natural reservation Area of the Vale do Rio Doce Company. Samples […]

Humus forms allow the characterization of either a natural forest ecosystem or disturbed forests. Under this perspective, we aimed to identify the humus forms in three Tabuleiro Forest sites in northern Espírito Santo: two primary forests, “Mata Alta” and “Mata de Córrego”, and one secondary forest resulting from slash and burn, over 40 years old (Capoeira Queimada). Therefore, the holorganic horizons were studied in regard to the pedological parameters of the mineral soil. At “Mata Alta”, a mesotrophic mull was […]

Carbon and nutrients released from the mineralization of organic materials can interact with mineral components changing their dynamics in the soil. In this study, mixtures of corn straw, kaolinite, synthetic goethite, and quartz sand were leached with water after 7, 15, 33, 68 and 113 days of incubation at room temperature. Concentrations of soluble carbon, calcium, magnesium, and potassium were measured and accumulated over time. After 200 days, the total carbon remaining in the mixture was quantified. Total calcium, magnesium, and potassium […]

A field experiment was carried out from 1990 to 1994 in the experimental area of the Soil Department at the Federal University of Santa Maria, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on an Hapludalf to evaluate the potential of some winter legumes as N suppliers to no-tillage corn. A completely randomized block design with split-plots was used, with the winter crops in the main plots and the N rates for corn in the split-plots. In the main plots, the […]

Some of the leguminous tree associated to fixing bacteria and micorrizal fungi have good development in degraded soils. Aiming to evaluate the influence of these species on soil fertility level, dry matter production and the nutrient contents of litter originated from these plants were measured during 1995. The rate of litter decomposition was evaluated by analysing the material collected in 1995 and 1996. Homogeneous stands of Caesalpiniifolia mimosa (‘Sabiá’), Acacia mangium and Acacia holosericea established at the experimental station of […]