In view of the importance of the macroporosity for the water transport properties of soils, its quantitative assessment is a challenging task. Measurements of hydraulic conductivity (K) at different soil water tensions and the quantification of water-conducting macropores (θM) of a soil under different tillage systems could help understand the effects on the soil porous system and related hydraulic properties. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of Conventional Tillage (CT), Chisel Plow (CP) and No Tillage […]

The physical quality of Amazonian soils is relatively unexplored, due to the unique characteristics of these soils. The index of soil physical quality is a widely accepted measure of the structural quality of soils and has been used to specify the structural quality of some tropical soils, as for example of the Cerrado ecoregion of Brazil. The research objective was to evaluate the physical quality index of an Amazonian dystrophic Oxisol under different management systems. Soils under five managements were […]

The Technologies setting at Agricultural production system have the main characteristics the vertical productivity, reduced costs, soil physical, chemical and biological improvement to promote production sustainable growth. Thus, the study aimed to determine the variability and the linear and special correlations between the plant and soil attributes in order to select and indicate good representation of soil physical quality for forage productivity. In the growing season of 2006, on the Fazenda Bonança in Pereira Barreto (SP), the productivity of autumn […]

According to the time of management implementation, the amount of crop residues added to the soil surface can increase in no-tillage systems (NTS) and promote changes in the chemical and physical soil properties. The objective of this study was to quantify the deposition of plant residues on the soil surface (RSS) and variations in the light organic matter (LOM), in C and N stocks, remaining phosphorus (Prem), the soil physical characteristics (particle density (PD), bulk density (BD) and total pore […]

Nitrogen losses from urea by ammonia volatilization are higher from no-tillage than from conventional tillage. The objective of this study was to evaluate the magnitude of this process under cool and wet spring conditions in the South-Central region of the State of Paraná and to evaluate the influence of two winter cover crops (black oat and common vetch) on ammonia volatilization in no-tillage. The tillage systems were compared in a long-term tillage experiment (28 years) and the cover crops tested […]

Soil management strategies to improve and maintain soil physical quality (SPhQ) are essential for the sustainability of intensive agricultural systems. The least limiting water range (LLWR) is an indicator of SPhQ defined by the range of least restrictive soil water content to plants, i.e., a soil water content within the LLWR indicates an appropriate SPhQ for plants. In this context, soil mulching with crop residues can contribute to the SPhQ by increasing the frequency at which soil water availability is […]

It is known that any kind of soil management causes changes in the soil physical characteristics and can affect agricultural yield. The purpose of this study was to evaluate soil properties of an Alfisol and soybean yield under different management systems for no-tillage annual crops, no-tillage with chiseling and no-tillage crop rotation. The 11-year experiment was initiated in the 1998/99 growing season, on 100 x 30 m plots (11 % slope). Soil samples (5 per management system) were systematically collected […]

The cultivation of crops with different capacity of P uptake and use under long-term soil tillage systems can affect the distribution of P cycling and inorganic forms in the soil, as a result of higher or lower use efficiency of P applied in fertilizers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of long-term cultivation of different winter species under tillage systems on the distribution of inorganic P forms in the soil. In 1986, the experiment was initiated […]

One of the expected benefits of no-tillage systems is a higher rate of soil C sequestration. However, higher C retention in soil is not always apparent when no-tillage is applied, due e.g., to substantial differences in soil type and initial C content. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of no-tillage management to increase the stock of total organic C in soils of the Pampas region in Argentina. Forty crop fields under no-tillage and conventional tillage […]

Long-term experiments testing different soil managements provide valuable information in the comparison of alterations in physical, chemical and biological soil properties with soil under natural vegetation. This long-term study was carried out to evaluate the external morphology and the stability of aggregates in the surface layer of a Yellowish-Red Argisol under different managements for comparison with secondary Atlantic Forest. Disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected from the 0-5 cm layer from soil under no-tillage (PD) and disk plow + […]