ABSTRACT Kaolinite is the main clay mineral in most soils around the world and has been widely used for industrial purposes. This research aimed to study chemical, morphological and crystallographic characteristics of kaolinite, and establish the origin of kaolinitic samples on Serra do Mar and kaolinitic layers on peatlands, located at Southern Brazil. Samples were collected on different geomorphological positions: two samples at Serra do Mar (kaolinitic saprolite – SAP, and kaolinitic layers – KL); and two cores at the […]

ABSTRACT Most of the forensic comparison of soils has focused on the clay and silt fractions at the expense of the coarser particles. This study aimed to test the potential of elemental and physical analyses in the sand fraction from subtropical soils to discriminate samples collected in areas under different parent material (claystone and marble) and in areas with the same parent material at a simulated crime scene. Scanning electron microscopy coupled to an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDS) analysis […]

ABSTRACT Ferralsols ( Latossolos ) should contain few or no 2:1 clay minerals and have low potassium (K) contents, and consequently low levels of non-exchangeable K forms are expected. The aim of this study was to evaluate how the clay mineralogy of a Ferralsol affects the soil K dynamics in response to K fertilization during cropping and whether the clay mineralogy was altered due to successive crops and K fertilization. A tropical Brazilian Ferralsol under field conditions was sampled (0.00-0.20 […]

ABSTRACT Shrinkage capacity (caráter retrátil in Portuguese) is a new diagnostic characteristic recently introduced in the Brazilian System of Soil Classification (SiBCS) to indicate shrink and swell properties observed in subtropical soils from highland plateaus in southern Brazil, specifically in Oxisols with brown colors. In soils located in road cuts exposed to drying for some weeks, strong shrinkage of soil volume is observed in these soils, resulting in the formation of pronounced vertical cracks and large and very large prismatic […]

Alternative copper (Cu) sources could be used in fertilizer production, although the bioavailability of copper in these materials is unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the extractants neutral ammonium citrate (NAC), 2 % citric acid, 1 % acetic acid, 10 % HCl, 10 % H2SO4, buffer solution pH 6.0, DTPA, EDTA, water, and hot water in the quantification of available Cu content in several sources, relating them to the relative agronomic efficiency (RAE) of wheat grown in […]

Systematic studies on of soil formation factors are relatively scarce in Brazil since comprehensive samplings of a variable factor while keeping others constant are difficult to perform. Near Lavras, Minas Gerais, there is wide geological diversity over a small area, which offers a chance to assess the control exerted by different lithologies on mineral suites and other soil properties. Thus, eight soils overlying quartzite, mica-schist, gabbro, itabirite, serpentinite, meta-limestone, gneiss and phyllite, under similar climate and tropical, semideciduous forest conditions […]

Ni(II)-Fe(II)-Fe(III) layered double hydroxides (LDH) or Ni-containing sulfate green rust (GR2) samples were prepared from Ni(II), Fe(II) and Fe(III) sulfate salts and analyzed with X ray diffraction. Nickel is readily incorporated in the GR2 structure and forms a solid solution between GR2 and a Ni(II)-Fe(III) LDH. There is a correlation between the unit cell a-value and the fraction of Ni(II) incorporated into the Ni(II)-GR2 structure. Since there is strong evidence that the divalent/trivalent cation ratio in GR2 is fixed at […]

Kaolinite, gibbsite, goethite and hematite are the main clay fraction components in Brazilian Oxisols. The abundance of these mineral influence the physical-chemical properties of such soils, which is thought to depend on the relief. This study aimed to characterize the spatial dependence of the crystallinity of kaolinite, gibbsite, goethite and hematite and aggregates of an Oxisol under sugar cane and to assess the spatial correlation between the attributes. In a grid with regular 10 m intervals 119 samples were collected […]

Maghemite (g-Fe2O3) is the most usually found ferrimagnetic oxide in red basalt-derived soils. The variable degrees of ionic substitution of Fe3+ for different metals (e.g. Ti4+, Al3+, Mg2+, Zn2+, and Mn2+) and non-metals in the maghemite structure influence some cristallochemical features of this iron oxide. In this study, synthetic Zn-substituted maghemites were prepared by co-precipitation in alkaline aqueous media of FeSO4.7H2O with increasing amounts of ZnSO4.7H2O to obtain the following sequence of Fe3+ for Zn2+ substitutions: 0.0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.10, […]

The accurate determination of the clay component contents of Latosols can contribute for the improvement of both use and management of such soils. In this research, the kaolinite and gibbsite contents of iron-free clay in Latosols were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and with the application of the Rietveld method to X-ray diffraction data for comparison with mineral contents calculated by the allocation method. It is likely that crystallographic differences between kaolinite and gibbsite used in the DSC calibrations […]