Volume 37, Number 1, 2013

The effect of soil compaction on plant growth is widely used as orientation for soil management. Although the limiting water range (LLWR) underlies the systematization of the relationship between compaction and physical factors directly related to plant growth, its efficiency to predict biological responses, especially of grain yield, has not yet been proven. Results of research at the cellular level indicate that the water and mechanical stress levels that occur in the roots during soil drying are partially represented by […]

The soils associated to depressed summits on the Coastal Plains are still little studied in Brazil and are differentiated in several aspects. Generally, the closer a soil is to these depressions, the sandier is the texture and the more accentuated the hydromorphism, where the occurrence of Spodosols is common. The objective of this work was to perform different extractions of Fe, Al, Si and organic C to understand the podzolization process in soils of the summit depressions of the Coastal […]

The soils in the Serra da Bodoquena, a mountain chain in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, have peculiar features that differ from other regions of the Cerrado-Pantanal biome. This study aims to characterize soils formed on limestone, based on the physical, chemical and mineralogical properties and organic matter. A toposequence on limestone was selected and profile pits were opened on the summit (P1), backslope (P2), footslope (P3) and toeslope (P4 and P5). The profiles were morphologically described […]

Studies of heavy rainfall are of practical interest for the conservation management of natural resources such as watersheds and soil and water. The spatial distribution of these natural rainfall events allows conclusions about regions where the occurrence of heavy rain is more frequent and to estimate their magnitude for locations without rainfall data sets. Thus, the purpose of this study was to map heavy rainfall data from 177 meteorological stations, using a geostatistical approach, for Minas Gerais, identifying the most […]

It is well-known nowadays that soil variability can influence crop yields. Therefore, to determine specific areas of soil management, we studied the Pearson and spatial correlations of rice grain yield with organic matter content and pH of an Oxisol (Typic Acrustox) under no- tillage, in the 2009/10 growing season, in Selvíria, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, in the Brazilian Cerrado (longitude 51º24′ 21” W, latitude 20º20′ 56” S). The upland rice cultivar IAC 202 was used as test plant. […]

Phosphorus fertilization and irrigation increase coffee production, but little is known about the effect of these practices on soil organic matter and soil microbiota in the Cerrado. The objective of this study was to evaluate the microbiological and oxidizable organic carbon fractions of a dystrophic Red Latossol under coffee and split phosphorus (P) applications and different irrigation regimes. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design in a 3 x 2 factorial design with three split P applications (P1: […]

Minas Gerais stands out as the largest coffee-producing state of Brazil. This crop is extremely susceptible to weeds, which can be handled by manual, mechanized and/or chemical methods, which strongly affect production costs and soil quality. In this sense, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different weed control methods in and between coffee rows on the soil microbiota and its processes. For this purpose, soil samples were taken in April 2010 from an Oxisol on […]

Studies on microbial activity and biomass in forestry plantations often overlook the role of litter, typically focusing instead on soil nutrient contents to explain plant and microorganism development. However, since the litter is a significant source of recycled nutrients that affect nutrient dynamics in the soil, litter composition may be more strongly correlated with forest growth and development than soil nutrient contents. This study aimed to test this hypothesis by examining correlations between soil C, N, and P; litter C, […]

To model the water flow and solute transport in soils, hydrodynamic and hydrodispersive parameters are required as input data in the mathematical models. The axisymmetric infiltration experiment using a single-ring infiltrometer with a conservative tracer (KCl) is a simple and efficient method for the determination of these parameters in the field. The objective of this study was to characterize hydrodynamic and hydrodispersive parameters of some soils in a marshy region, in Areia-PB, in the field, based on single-ring infiltration tests. […]

Soil infiltration is a key link of the natural water cycle process. Studies on soil permeability are conducive for water resources assessment and estimation, runoff regulation and management, soil erosion modeling, nonpoint and point source pollution of farmland, among other aspects. The unequal influence of rainfall duration, rainfall intensity, antecedent soil moisture, vegetation cover, vegetation type, and slope gradient on soil cumulative infiltration was studied under simulated rainfall and different underlying surfaces. We established a six factor-model of soil cumulative […]