ABSTRACT Soils polluted by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) pose a high risk to human health and must be remediated. Applying biochar to such soils can reduce metal bioavailability and phytotoxicity, improving phytoremediation techniques. This study aimed to assess the effects of rice straw biochar (RSB) on mitigating metal stress and accumulation of Si, Cd, Pb, and Zn in corn plants grown in soil contaminated by metallurgy slag. Soil in pots was amended with RSB rates equivalent to 0, 5, 10, […]

ABSTRACT Wetlands provide important ecosystem services, including climate regulation through carbon sequestration and water storage. Identifying and protecting wetlands is a potentially significant opportunity for current global mitigation efforts. Cerrado wetlands commonly contain carbon-rich soils (peat); however, these environments have been neglected due to lack of knowledge on their characteristics and behaviors. Obtaining data in remote regions using a detailed sampling approach to characterize the organic carbon accumulation in these environments is extremely necessary. In this study, soil samples from […]

ABSTRACT Stress transfers inside the soil during the traveling process of agricultural machinery, and the bonding of soil particles during this process is the main cause of soil compaction. In this study, the discrete element method was used to simulate the different responses of stress transfer and particle bonding in the soil under different times of tire passes in the tire-soil interaction process of agricultural machinery operation. It was found that from 1 to 8 passes, the increase in the […]

ABSTRACT Land use changes profoundly impact the natural dynamics of soil phosphorus (P), potentially leading to decreased P concentrations. This study aimed to evaluate the different P fractions in soils from Paraguay Central Chaco under pristine and anthropogenic conditions. A randomized complete block design was utilized with two treatments (pristine and anthropogenic usage). Thirty-four composite soil samples were collected from the region at the layer of 0.00-0.20 m, followed by chemical fractionation of P into labile, moderately labile, and non-labile […]

ABSTRACT Cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale L.) is a fruit species widely cultivated in Brazil, but the interest in evaluating this plant nutritional status is very recent, to the point there is still no defined diagnostic leaf. This study aimed to define the leaves that reflect the nutritional status of dwarf cashews. Leaf samples were collected from a productive orchard established with four dwarf cashew clones: ‘CCP 76’, ‘BRS 189’, ‘BRS 226’, and ‘BRS 265’. Leaf sampling was performed over four […]

ABSTRACT Lime applications are used in acid soils to correct pH and eliminate Al3+ toxicity in crops. The lime rates are determined based on the estimated soil potential acidity (H+Al), using soil incubations with calcium carbonate (CaCO3) for 180 days, being a time-consuming and laborious process. An alternative method with calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] for 96 h incubation may efficiently estimate H+Al, but it needs further studies. Also, soils from specific regions in southern Brazil have high organic matter (SOM) contents […]

ABSTRACT The absence of quantitative limits for the diagnostic attributes that define spodic B horizons in the Brazilian Soil Classification System (SiBCS) allows the inclusion of soils in the Espodossolos (the equivalent of Spodosols or Podzols) classes that contradict the classical concepts that define the podzolization process, by including horizons with low organic carbon (Corg) content, and with alkaline pH, high sum of bases and sodic or solodic characteristics. This study aimed to propose quantitative criteria and limits to identify […]

ABSTRACT Globally, soils with gypsic horizons cover approximately 1 million km², predominantly in arid climates. The formation of pedogenic gypsum in soils has been a topic of discussion in pedological studies for some time, with gypsification representing the process responsible for secondary gypsum accumulation. Even though international classification systems acknowledge the existence of gypsic horizons, there is a paucity of documented evidence concerning their occurrence in Brazilian soils. This study aimed to identify and describe a soil with secondary gypsum […]

ABSTRACT Soil erosion in tropical environments causes environmental, social and economic damage. Canephora coffee crops are impacted by soil erosion and testing alternatives to mitigate this damage is a current need. This study aimed to evaluate the losses of sediment, organic carbon, nutrients and surface runoff caused by water erosion in between-rows spacing of Coffea canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner plants in management with and without cover crops, and the effect of the intensity of rains on sediment loss and […]

ABSTRACT Grasses of the Brachiaria genus are widely used as cover crops in no-tillage areas of the Brazilian Cerrado. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of six Brachiaria cultivars to produce shoot and root biomass, and the potential of the root system to grow through a 0.01 m thick wax layer with 1.5 MPa penetration resistance. The plants were grown in PVC columns with a diameter of 0.1 m and a height of 0.7 m. The column was divided […]