The cation exchange capacity (CEC) is a physicochemical property dependent on mineral and organic soil constituents. Despite the use of different procedures and extractors the CEC is normally expressed considering only the pH control or not of the extracted solution. This study aims to discuss the significance of the contribution of organic carbon and clay to the CEC of an Acrisol, using different determination methods. For this purpose, 75 samples of an abruptic Red-Yellow Acrisol from the Universidade Federal de […]

The spatial variability of soils under a same management system is differentiated, as expressed in the properties. The spatial variability of aggregate stability of a eutrophic Red Latosol (ERL) and a dystrophic Red Latosol (DRL) under sugarcane was characterized. Samples were collected in a regular 10 m grid, in the layers 0.0-0.2 and 0.2-0.4 m, with 100 points per area, and the following properties were determined: geometric mean diameter (GMD) of aggregates, mean weight diameter (MWD) of aggregates, percent of aggregates in […]

The residues flue dust, aqueous lime and sewage sludge (centrifuge and biodigestor) may affect soil physical attributes. The use of industrial and urban residues in soil, with emphasis to sewage sludge, was done in tilled soil, and there are no repports on soil physical attributes affected by these residues on soil surface in no-till system The goal of this study was to evaluate the physical attributes of a an Oxisol in no-till system by surface dispoasal of sewage sludge, flue […]

The determination of structural characteristics of humic substances (HS) is essential to understand the behavior of surface chemistry of highly weathered soils. Humic acids (HA) and fulvic acids (FA) isolated from the surface horizon of seven Oxisols of different locations of Brazil were characterized by analyses of elemental composition, total and carboxylic acidity, oxidation capacity and spectroscopic techniques. The oxidation degree of the humic substances was high, while acidity and molecular weight were relatively low, indicating a very reactive alkaline […]

Soil degradation occurs as a consequence of intensive preparation associated with monocropping systems with deposition of residues that are rapidly decomposed. The objective of this study was to investigate the decomposition rates of different cover plants residues in Latosol (Oxisol) under conventional and no-tillage systems. The cover plants (Crotalaria juncea, Canavalia brasiliensis, Cajanus cajan, Mucuna pruriens, Helianthus annuus, Pennisetum glaucum, Raphanus sativus and natural fallow, as a control) were used in a succession with maize. The cover plants were cut […]

More and more studies, including in Brazil, have suggested the use of microbial biomass carbon (MBC) as a bioindicator of soil quality. Most studies employ two methods: the pioneer of fumigation-incubation (FI), in which the MBC is estimated based on CO2 emission from fumigated and non-fumigated soil samples after 10 days of incubation and fumigation-extraction (FE), in which MBC is estimated based on C extraction from fumigated and non-fumigated soil samples after 12 h. However, in Brazil the correlation between both […]

The soil use not always result in an ecological sustainable system. An intense and inadequate soil use leads to soil degradation. In this sense, this study aimed to investigate the influence of sewage sludge on the recovery of physical properties of a degraded Oxisol, cultivated for 2.5 years with eucalyptus (Eucalyptus citriodora Hook) and Brachiaria grass (Brachiaria decumbens), in Selvíria, MS, Brazil. Six treatments were evaluated in an experiment in a randomized block design with four replications: (1) Savannah; (2) […]

The presence of highly stable microaggregates can hamper soil dispersion in some Oxisols. These very clayey groupings may be not completely disaggregated by chemical and mechanical dispersion. Due to their size, the silt proportion of the soil is overestimated. A laboratory experiment was conducted to verify the use of the solution equilibrium P (SEP) to evaluate the response to particle size analysis pre-treatments in Oxisols. The treatments were arranged in a 7 x 22 factorial design, in randomized blocks with […]

The light organic matter fraction is known as an early indicator of changes in soil organic matter (SOM) as a result of different soil use and management. Several solutions are used in its separation, but little is known about the effect of these solutions on the quantity and quality of the extracted fraction, as well as the possible interferences of the separation solution on the quantification of organic carbon (C) content. Twenty soils with variable clay contents and under different […]

Microbial activity is highly relevant for nutrient cycling and soil fertility in forest plantations. Due to the long growth cycles, continuous litter production and dead roots contribute to storage and increase of soil organic matter. Changes in soil and litter microbial biomass and activity under 1, 3, 5 and 13-year-old eucalypt plantations were evaluated. Soil and climate conditions were the same at the sites. Microbial biomass C and N were higher in litter than in soil. Then, litter could be […]