The humic substances that compose the soil organic matter participate actively in the pedogenetic soil processes, particularly in the Histic (Histic), Mollic (Chernozemic), Umbric (Humic) and Spodic (Spodic) diagnostic horizons. This study aimed to determine organic C amounts in the soil humic substances and evaluate their applicability for diagnostic horizons recognition. Fifty-six diagnostic soil horizons from different Brazilian regions were used, 52 from surface horizons or epipedons (H histic, A mollic, A proeminent, A humic and A moderate) and four […]

Soil contamination is nowadays a problem that requires detailed investigation in order to set up criteria for distinction between natural anomalies and antropogenic contribution. This work was carried out to evaluate zinc distribution and fractions, aiming to identify the origin of high Zn content in soils around mining areas in the Vazante county -MG (Brazil). Soil profiles were sampled in mined areas, and in upslope and downslope positions at depths of 0-2, 2-5, 5-10, 10-20, 20-50, 50-100 and 100-150 cm. A […]

The Brazilian Atlantic coast have has extreme environmental diversity, where is expressive the occurrence of Argisols, described and identified in several studies, that do not have exhausted the possibilities of interpretations. The objective of this study was to evaluate the main differences in the physical and chemical properties of Argisols of the Brazilian Atlantic coast by multivariate analysis, allowing inferences on their genesis and fertility. For this purpose, 91 soil profiles from the soil survey reports of the Project RADAMBRASIL were analyzed, […]

Tillage is one of the most important components of soil management in the process of crop production, normally used to create a favorable environment for sowing, seed germination and plant development. In addition, it is mainly determinant for the or surface soil physical conditions that will ultimately determine the erosion and the effectiveness of runoff reduction of the various soil management systems used to establish a given crop, in a given place. Considering these aspects, a field study under natural […]

Nitrogen is a plant nutrient of great importance. To determine optimum N levels for wheat, a field trial was carried out in a Red Latosol, during the winter of 2005, at Embrapa Cerrados, Planaltina (DF – Brazil). The experiment was set up in a randomized block design, with six replications and the treatments consisted of six N doses (0, 70, 140, 210, 280 and 350 kg ha-1). Soil samples were collected in the 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm layers and three different chemical extractors […]

In Mango cultivation under Brazil conditions paclobutrazol (PBZ), a growth regulator, is very used. However it is not yet well known about the leaching potential of PBZ in these soil conditions. The objectives of this study were to evaluate sorption and mobility of paclobutrazol (PBZ), a growth regulator of the chemical group triazol, in a sandy loam soil found in the sub-mid region of the San Francisco River valley, where mango cultivation is intense. The sorption study was based on […]

Cattle slurry solid fraction (FSC1 and FSC2, collected from open and closed sinkholes, respectively) was collected from two dairy farms and composted with and without straw, in static and in turned piles. Thermophilic temperatures were attained soon after separation of FSC1, which was collected at lower rate, and increased to a daily maximum temperature of 68 °C in the static pile with straw. However, the temperature in the FSC2 piles did not reach temperatures above 51 °C. Straw addition to slurry solid […]

Soil carbon stocks are the result of interaction of factors that determine their formation and decomposition. This study aimed to quantify the total organic recovery in various C pools under the following different land uses of an Ultisol: secondary forest, rubber tree plantation, pasture, and citrus plantation. The soil was sampled at depths of 0 to 10 cm and 10 to 20 cm and the following characteristics were determined: total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), fulvic acid fraction-C (FA), humic acid […]

In spite of the agricultural use potential and the peculiar edaphic characteristics, few studies have been conducted to estimate the potential acidity of soils with high organic matter content. The objective of this study was to establish a mathematical model that could estimate the potential acidity (H + Al) based on the pH SMP after determination of the soil pH in water and in CaCl2 10 mmol L-1 solution with reading of the pH in the suspension or supernatant of the equilibrium solution SMP […]

Soil penetration resistance exercises major influence on crop development, root growth and crop productivity, which is inversely proportional to that soil attribute. In this way, the analysis of spatial variability of soil penetration resistance and crop yield based on geostatistics can indicate alternative management practices, not only to reduce the effects of soil variability on crop yield, but also to improve the estimated crop response under certain management practices. This study aimed to correlate soil penetration resistance (RP) and spatial […]