Rural settlements in Brazil were created in order to confront pressures and are characterized by the lack of planning prior to the diagnosis and implementation of the natural resources related to land suitability evaluation, distribution of classes such as topography, rivers system, vegetation, and support mechanisms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the agricultural capacity of the lands which were allotted to the settlement of rural families by the National Institute of Colonization and Land Reform (INCRA), applying […]

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, […]

Restinga is a term currently used for the vegetation on the poor and sandy soils of the coastal plains of Brazil. The soils of these environments have been poorly studied. The counties Cananéia, Ilha Comprida and Bertioga were selected for this research due to the representativeness of the environmental conditions of the state of São Paulo. In these environments 31 soil profiles were described and sampled, many of them in chronosequences. The samples were characterized chemically and analytical evidence converged […]

The use of the shallow Neossolos (Leptosols and Regosols) is limited in view of the small depth and rock fragments on the surface. There is a lack of information about the definition of the contacts between soil, saprolite and rock in this soil class, as well as tools that would facilitate the morphologic field identification. The objectives of this research were an evaluation of the morphology of the contact between soil, saprolite and rock in the Neossolos derived from the […]

In the region of the Serra do Espinhaço Meridional, peat bog is formed in hydromorphic environments developed in sunken areas on the plain surfaces with vegetation adapted to hydromorphic conditions, favoring the accumulation and preservation of organic matter. This pedoenvironment is developed on the regionally predominant quartzite rocks. Peat bog in the Environmental Protection Area – APA Pau-de-Fruta, located in the watershed of Córrego das Pedras, Diamantina,Brazil, was mapped and three representative profiles were morphologically characterized and sampled for physical, […]

The soil structure transformation from ferralic to nitic horizons was studied in a toposequence on quaternary red clayey sediments and diabase in Piracicaba (SP), Brazil. Morphological and micromorphological studies, image analysis, soil water characteristic curves and monitoring of (total) soil water potential head were used. The presence of polyconcave vughs, clayskins and planar voids shows that the vertical and lateral transition and structural transformation from ferralic to nitic horizons is given by the coalescence of the microaggregates, probably due to […]

The widespread occurrence of Cambisols (shallow, dense and silty) and of clayey and very clayey Latosols is typical of pelitic rocks of the pre-Cambrian Bambui Group landscape, but few studies are focused on the genesis and agricultural potential of these soils. Two areas were selected in Curvelo, state of Minas Gerais, for a detailed study of physical, chemical and mineralogical properties of these soils, to deepen the understanding of the pedogenesis of this area. Soils classified as Haplic Cambisols (Inceptisols), […]

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 […]

Brazilian tropical soils are generally regarded as highly weathered, which is attributed to the climatic conditions (high temperatures and rainfall). However, in the “Mar de Morros” environment the intensity of pedogenic processes can be affected by the erosional removal of material, due to the hilly relief, which rejuvenates the surfaces. The objective of this study was to characterize and classify soil profiles in a toposequence developed from muscovite-biotite gneiss, located in the municipality of Pinheiral (Rio de Janeiro State). The […]

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 […]