Rev. Bras. Ciênc. Solo.2001;25(4):1017-27.
Morfological and physical transformation in a clayey oxisol under pastures
01/Dec/2001
DOI: 10.1590/S0100-06832001000400024
This study was carried out in the Western region of Minas Gerais, Brazil to evaluate the morphological changes in a Yellow-Red Latosol, after a conversion of a 20 year old Brachiaria decumbens pasture, under intensive pasture systems; a pure Brachiaria decumbens and an association of this grass with the legume Stylosanthes guianensis. Through morphological and physical characterization, it could be concluded that: (a) there were structural obstructions to radicular development in the old pasture soil; (b) the soil macrofauna played an essential role in the formation of stable aggregates and in the regeneration of initial compact soil volumes; (c) the fissural porosity under the recovered pastures had compensated the lowest porosity observed in the clods; (d) the recovered pasture’s soil’s physical constraints were eliminated; (e) the methodological “cultural soil profile” approach seems to be successful for diagnosis under grass cultivation.
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