The least limiting water range (LLWR) is one of the best indicators of soil physical quality in intensive production systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical quality of a Typic Haplorthox by the LLWR after three crop growing seasons and the first year of crop-livestock integration in Xambrê, northwestern Paraná, Brazil. The experiment was established in a randomized block design with three replications. Treatments consisted of four brachiaria heights before grazing (0.10; 0.20; 0.30, and 0.40 […]

Araucaria angustifolia (Bert.) O. Kuntze is the main component of the Mixed Ombrophilous forest and, in the State of São Paulo, it is associated with a high diversity of soil organisms, essential for the maintenance of soil quality, making the conservation of this ecosystem a major and pressing challenge. The objective of this study was to identify the physical and chemical properties that are most closely correlated with dehydrogenase enzyme activity, basal respiration and microbial biomass under native (NF) and […]

Minas Gerais stands out as the largest coffee-producing state of Brazil. This crop is extremely susceptible to weeds, which can be handled by manual, mechanized and/or chemical methods, which strongly affect production costs and soil quality. In this sense, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different weed control methods in and between coffee rows on the soil microbiota and its processes. For this purpose, soil samples were taken in April 2010 from an Oxisol on […]

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 […]

Crop-livestock integration represents an interesting alternative of soil management, especially in regions where the maintenance of cover crops in no-tillage systems is difficult. The objective of this study was to evaluate soil physical and chemical properties, based on the hypothesis that a well-managed crop-livestock integration system improves the soil quality and stabilizes the system. The experiment was set up in a completely randomized design, with five replications. The treatments were arranged in a 6 x 4 factorial design, to assess […]

Araucaria angustifolia, commonly named Araucaria, is a Brazilian native species that is intensively exploited due to its timber quality. Therefore, Araucaria is on the list of species threatened by extinction. Despite the importance of soil for forest production, little is known about the soil properties of the highly fragmented Araucaria forests. This study was designed to investigate the use of chemical and biological properties as indicators of conservation and anthropogenic disturbance of Araucaria forests in different sampling periods. The research […]

The impact of pig slurry and poultry litter fertilization on soils depends on the conditions of use and the amounts applied. This study evaluated the effect of organic fertilizers after different application periods in different areas on the physical properties and organic carbon contents of a Rhodic Kandiudox, in Concordia, Santa Catarina, in Southern Brazil. The treatments consisted of different land uses and periods of pig and poultry litter fertilization: silage maize (M7 years), silage maize (M20 years), annual ryegrass […]

Mechanical chiseling has been used to alleviate the effects of compaction in soils under no-tillage (NT). However, its effect on the soil physical properties does not seem to have a defined duration period. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the behavior of the bulk density (BD) and degree of compaction (DC) at different soil depths, after chiseling in no-tillage, for one year. The experiment was performed in Ponta Grossa, Paraná State, Brazil, using an Oxisol (Rhodic Hapludox). Bulk […]

Soil compaction can be minimized either mechanically or biologically, using plant species with vigorous root systems. An experiment was carried out with soybean (Glycine max) in rotation with triticale (X Triticosecale) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus) in fall-winter associated with pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) or sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) in spring. Crop rotation under no-till was compared with mechanical chiseling. The experiment was carried out in Botucatu, São Paulo State, Brazil. Soil quality was estimated using the […]

Nowadays the concept of soil physical quality is well-established, based mainly on the indices that quantify soil quality. The S index is a new indicator of soil physical quality related to important soil characteristics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the method of obtaining the S index and the derivative of the function of the of water retention curve, using the transformation ln(h) or not, and assess the problem of units and the restriction m = 1 – […]