Chiseling and winter cover crops have been adopted to improve the soil physical properties related to aeration. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of winter cover crops and chiseling on physical properties of a Typic Hapludox, clayey texture, after 16 years under no-tillage. The treatments were applied in May 2009, as follows: no-tillage (PD), no-tillage mechanically chiseled to a depth of 0.25 m (PD-E), and biologically aerated soil with no-tillage radish (PD-B). The experiment was arranged in a randomized […]

Air permeability (Kα) can be used to assess soil structure changes resulting from different tillage systems. This study tested the hypothesis that the reduced soil disturbance in no-tillage results in continuous pores and better soil aeration conditions. The objective was to evaluate the aeration of a Rhodic Hapludox under conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT), based on soil air permeability (Kα), air-filled porosity (εa) and indices of pore continuity (K1 and N). Eighty undisturbed soil cores (2 treatments x 2 […]

The traffic of agricultural machinery and soil compaction occur near the canopy of citrus trees, which increases soil physical restrictions to root growth. Soil management strategies include the use of permanent groundcover in the interrows of orange tree plantations, although the effects of these practices on the soil physical quality are largely unknown. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of groundcover management systems on some indicators of soil physical quality for orange tree orchards. The study […]

A soil classification system is proposed, based on the aeration and hydration capacities of profiles. Hydration is measured by the available water (field capacity minus wilting point), and aeration evaluated by the connection of available air (total porosity minus field capacity) values and steady state infiltration rate. On this basis, 10 soil orders and 28 soil classes are defined. Input variables are: density of solids, bulk density, porosity, field capacity, wilting point, and steady state infiltration rate. The classification is based on […]