In the Agreste region of Pernambuco state, Planosols are economically highly important, due to the degree of occupation, as well as the heavy use, mainly for agricultural activities. Aspects such as duality or reworking of parent material, which characterize the processes involved in the formation of the marked textural differences and of Na and salt concentrations, are important points to be clarified. This study aimed to evaluate the pedogenetic process of the Planosols in the region Agreste, state of Pernambuco, […]

Highland forests in mountains of Northeast Brazil are islands of humid Atlantic forest in the midst of the semi-arid region. The climatic conditions are rather atypical, improved by the occurrence of orographic rainfall, which can reach 1,200 mm per year. In the state of Pernambuco, most of the scientific studies in these humid highland forests are focused on botanical and zoological aspects only, with very little information about soils. Aiming to study the soils of the humid mountains in the semi-arid […]

Despite of Luvisols and Planosols being ubiquitous in the semiarid region of Northeastern Brazil there are very few studies on the micromorphology and genesis of these soils. The purpose of this study was to investigate the soil micromorphology of four toposequences of Luvisols to understand and identify the main soil formation processes. Profiles of 12 soils (10 Luvisols and 2 Planosols) arranged in four toposequences were selected in the semiarid region of the states of Pernambuco and Paraíba. Undisturbed samples […]

The understanding of the relationships between geology, geomorphology and pedology underlies activities of soil classification and the evaluation of the pedological distribution of an area. This study was motivated by the lack of reports of this nature for the region of Lavras (MG), where several soil classes occur, related to a great petrological variety in the parent material and different geomorphological domains. The objective was to study the relationships between parent materials (pedogeological relationship), relief classes (pedogeomorphological relationship) and soils […]

The focus of our study were to study soil-landscape relationships in a sandstone-basalt transition lithosequence and to compare the limits of geomorphic surfaces mapped in the field with those mapped by geostatistical techniques. An area of 530 ha was mapped using GPS equipment in order to generate a model of digital elevation, which allowed for the establishment of a transection of 2.100 m from the hill top downwards. Along the transection, the altitude was measured at 50 m regular intervals […]

Soils formed from serpentinized rocks or serpentinites constitute a special group of soils on the earth surface. These rocks present ultramafic characteristics, with more than 70 % mafic minerals (iron and magnesium oxides). The mineralogy of serpentinites is poor in silica and aluminum and very rich in Mg. Only few studies have looked into the morphology, mineralogy, genesis and classification of soils developed on this type of parent material. In the humid-tropical climate of southwestern Minas Gerais state, three representative soil […]

The objective of the present study was to characterize the mineralogy and micromorphology of soils with stagnic properties from the micro region of Araripina, in the Sertão Zone of Pernambuco State aiming to improve the understanding of their properties and pedogenic processes. Up to now, these soils have been poorly studied. They are characterized by the presence of a solodic or natric B horizon underlying a normal argic B horizon. Three representative soil profiles were selected in Ouricuri County. According […]

Little is known about the soil diversity of Brazilian highland regions, despite their recent upgrading in view of the ecotouristic potential of some areas. Chemical, mineralogical and micromorphological attributes of ten soil profiles along two transects in the quartzitic domains of the Ibitipoca State Park, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, were studied in relation to their pedogenesis. At local level, soil formation is more closely associated with litho-structural elements (lithology, faults and fractures), than with topographical variations. The soils are Al-saturated […]

A detailed macro- and micromorphological investigation was carried out in two Ultisol (Argissolo Amarelo) and one Aridisol (Planossolo Nátrico) profile from a tableland surface of the San Francisco river basin in Petrolina, Pernambuco State, Northeastern Brazil. The study aimed to characterize the soils micromorphologically, evaluating their pedogenesis to help understand the soil diversity in the landscape. Results indicate that the three soils were developed from Post-Cretaceous sediments mixed with Pre-Cambrian crystalline rock weathered materials and, also, most probably, with materials […]

The geochemical behavior in soil alteration profiles in Lavras (MG), Brazil, was evaluated during the process of soil formation leading to the formation of argillic horizons, in parent material ranging from acid, intermediate to mafic geochemical composition.Along each profile, from the consolidated bedrock to the solum, geochemical analyses of major elements-main oxides were performed, calculating the gains and losses through a mass chemical balance.The results showed a moderate loss of SiO2, bases leaching, and a slight relative enrichment of Al, […]