Use of the S-index to evaluate soil physical quality
01/Dec/2011
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 – […]
Epigeic fauna in production systems of Nicotiana tabacum L.
01/Oct/2011
The state of Rio Grande do Sul is an important tobacco producer. The crop is produced in three management systems: conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT) and no tillage (NT). To assess the impact of these systems on the soil fauna population, the epigeic fauna was sampled. Aside from the three cited systems, an area in conversion from tobacco to grape (TGr) and an area of native forest (NF) were evaluated. Ten Provid traps per area were used for sampling. […]
Soil chemical and microbial properties in vineyards under organic and conventional management in southern Brazil
01/Oct/2011
Organic cropping systems with input of fresh organic matter can modify the physical and chemical properties of soils and consequently affect their biological composition. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of juice grape (Vitis labrusca L.) management on the soil chemical and microbial properties of a sandy-textured Oxisol. In October 2006, soil was sampled from two vineyard experiments set up in 2000, and from a neighboring forest area. The following treatments were evaluated in a 2 […]
Recovery of soil physical properties by green manure, liming, gypsum and pasture and spontaneous native species
01/Aug/2011
Inadequate usage can degrade natural resources, particularly soils. More attention has been paid to practices aiming at the recovery of degraded soils in the last years, e.g, the use of organic fertilizers, liming and introduction of species adapted to adverse conditions. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the recovery of physical properties of a Red Latosol (Oxisol) degraded by the construction of a hydroelectric power station. In the study area, a soil layer about 8m thick had […]
Soil aggregation and carbon stock of a paleudult under different agricultural managaments
01/Feb/2011
Soil functions and quality are closely linked to soil structure. The effect of management practices on the recovery of the aggregation of a physically degraded soil was studied based on the distribution of water-stable aggregates and single particles (diameter classes 9.51-4.76, 4.76-2.00, 2.00-0.25, 0.25-0.053, < 0.053 mm) and carbon stock (C) in the surface layer (0-7.5 cm) of a Paleudult in the Central Depression region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, under different management systems. The following […]
Microbiological and chemical soil properties in deserting areas in the semiarid region of Pernambuco State, Brazil
01/Dec/2010
To analyze the process of degradation caused by natural or anthropogenic influences tools are required, preferentially low-cost, to indicate the degradation stages aiming the selection of techniques to reclaim degraded areas. The purpose of this study was to analyze the variability of microbiological and chemical soil properties as indicators of desertification processes in areas with increasing levels of degradation in the semiarid region of the State of Pernambuco, Brazil. Three environments were sampled: conserved, moderately degraded and heavily degraded in […]
Soil biomass and microbial activity under different management systems in the physiographic region Campos das Vertentes – Minas gerais
01/Oct/2010
Biomass and microbial activity have been suggested as appropriate indicators of changes caused by different land use and management systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate alterations in biomass and microbial activity of a typic acric Red-Yellow Latosol (Oxisol), under native Cerrado and different management systems, in the physiographic region Campos das Vertentes, state of Minas Gerais. The evaluated systems were: conventional tillage with potato (CCB); potato followed by oat in rotation with corn (CBAM); conventional tillage with […]
Quality of a revegeted mine spoil in the federal disrict of Brazil
01/Aug/2010
The use of organic residues has been shown to be effective for the revegetation of mined areas. However, data on the quality of mine spoils treated with organic residues are rather scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the spoil quality of a mined area in the Brazilian Federal District treated with 250 Mg ha-1 of domestic sewage sludge and covered with herbs grown from seeds. The soil attributes used for the evaluation were bulk density, total porosity, available water capacity, soil resistance […]
Visual assessments as a soil quality index and its validation by soil physical and chemical analysis in a rhodic hapludox under different uses and managements
01/Aug/2010
Cropping systems modify soil attributes and can affect their quality. Traditionally evaluated by laboratory analytical methods, soil attributes have been used as indicators of its quality and are very accurate. However, many times, analytical methods are of difficult access by the producer and high cost. Visual Soil Assessment (VSA) has been developed to help land managers to assess soil condition easily, reliably and cheaply on a field scale. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the […]
Sewage sludge application to agricultural land as soil physical conditioner
01/Jun/2010
Water resource quality is a concern of today’s society and, as a consequence, low pollutant wastewaters and sludges are being increasingly treated, resulting in continuous production of sewage sludge. Sewage sludge (SS) can be used as soil physical conditioner of agricultural or degraded lands, due to its organic C component. The objective of this research was to evaluate the long-term SS effects on soil physical quality of properties such as bulk density, porosity, permeability and water retention of degraded soils […]