ABSTRACT Continually rising scarcity in water and nutrient resources, especially in semi-arid agricultural systems, combined with increased frequency of extreme weather events such as drought, contribute to a growing need for resilient and regenerative agricultural ecosystems. However, evaluating a myriad of combinations of producer-led sustainable management practices in on-farm research remains challenging. Few studies have elucidated spatial variability in measured soil properties across the study area due to logistical and economic constraints. As such, this study aimed to: 1) establish […]

Soil compaction from animal traffic is a concern in crop-livestock systems. This experiment was set up in 2007 with the aim of evaluating the effect of different soil management systems and animal traffic on soil physical and water properties and soybean development and yield. The soil evaluated was a dystrofic Red Latosol (Oxisol) under a no-tillage grain crop system intercropped with forage for the past decade. The effect of animal traffic was evaluated in regard to soil bulk density (Bd), […]

The adjustment of animal quantity according to the herbage allowance is fundamental to the sustainability of natural pastures. The management of herbage allowance, besides affecting the plant species that compose the pasture, can also compromise soil properties, such as density and aggregation. This study aimed to evaluate the soil bulk density, weighted mean diameter of soil aggregates and carbon fractions under natural pasture, under varying grazing intensities for 22 years, represented by herbage allowance levels of 4, 8, 12, and […]

Obtaining information about soil properties under different agricultural uses to plan soil management is very important with a view to sustainability in the different agricultural systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in certain indicators of the physical quality of a dystrophic Red Latosol (Oxisol) under different agricultural uses. The study was conducted in an agricultural area located in northern Paraná State. Dystrophic Red Latosol samples were taken from four sites featuring different types of land use […]