Volume 31, Number 2, 2007

The time-domain reflectometry (TDR) technique has been one of the most used techniques to determine soil volumetric water content (q) owing to some favorable characteristics such as high precision, non-ionizing radiation and little influence of soil salinity, bulk density and texture. However, most of the TDR equipment and probes available do not allow a detailed measurement along the soil profile, as for instance the neutron probe does. For conventional TDR probes holes or trenches must be opened in the soil […]

The current sugarcane management techniques employed involve vigorous soil revolvement with ploughs, heavy disks and subsoilers before planting. The aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of modification of some physical properties of a kaolinitic Oxisol (LVd) and a kaolinitic – oxidic Oxisol (LVdf) under sugarcane and native forest in Jaboticabal county, São Paulo state, Brazil. The experimental design was completely randomized, in a 4 x 3 split plot scheme (four managements and three depths), with four replications. […]

Despite the efficiency of no-tillage in improving soil and water conservation, the machinery traffic and absence of soil tillage can lead to surface compaction in clayey soils. The Least Limiting Water Range (LLWR) expresses the effects of management systems on the improvement or degradation of soil physical quality. The objective of this study was to quantify LLWR to discriminate the effects of management systems under no-tillage on soil physical quality. The treatments were crop succession under no-tillage, crop rotation under […]

The least limiting water range (LLWR) was used to determine several factors that influence plant growth. The LLWR is defined as the water content range in which aeration (AFP) and soil resistance to root penetration (RP) are not restrictive, within the field capacity (FC) and permanent wilting point (PWP). The aim of the present study was to determine the LLWR and soybean grain yield in an Oxisol under non-tillage (NT) and chiseled no-tillage (CNT) systems. The soil density, LLWR, soil […]

In this study available cooper (Cu) content in different sources of this micronutrient was determined using several extractants. The cooper sources were: coppper oxide p.a. + copper powder p.a., copper oxide 40 Ind., CuSO4.5H2O p.a., chalcopyrite ore, copper powder p.a. and copper oxide p.a., and they were used in the following extraction procedures: total Cu content and soluble Cu contents in water, citric acid at 20 g L-1, neutral ammonium citrate (1 + 9) and DTPA at 0.005 mol L-1. […]

In an attempt to enhance the precision of chemical analyses of soil fertility and quantify different elements simultaneously, some laboratories have opted to use the technique of inductively coupled plasma for optical emission spectrometry (ICP) instead of the technique of Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS), which currently is the most commonly used in soil analysis laboratories. In this study we compared the precision of the two dosage techniques, their repeatability and the magnitude of the concentrations of the micronutrients Fe, Zn, […]

The search for methods to determine the content of soil organic matter (SOM) that do not generate hazardous waste is important. SOM oxidation with dichromate is used in most Brazilian soil laboratories and it generates chromium-contaminated waste. The objective of this study was to evaluate the weight loss-on-ignition (LOI) method in comparison to the wet digestion procedure based on sulfuric acid-chromium solution as commonly used in soil analysis laboratories of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) and Santa Catarina (SC) states, […]

The conversion of tropical dry forest into areas used for subsistence agriculture or livestock production is a common feature of the semi-arid region of NE Brazil. Our study looked into the effect of these land use changes on propagules of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) at ten sites distributed in the states of Paraíba and Pernambuco. Each site consisted of an area under native vegetation (Dry-Forest) adjacent to a cultivated area in the same slope position. Soil samples were taken at […]

The effect of grazing pressure in sheep production has been studied, but not in relation to soil microbiological parameters or the consequences on soil fertility. The effect of grazing pressure (GP) by sheep on biomass and microbial activity related to C and N compounds cycling in subtropical region soil was studied. Soil samples were collected from the 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm layers in pastures with low GP (5 animals ha-1), high GP (40-50 animals ha-1) and in absence of […]

Sediments carried away by the muddy waters of the Guamá River and the heterogeneity of these substances are responsible for the soil formation and diversity of chemical characteristics in the periodically flooded areas. This study aimed at determining the physical and chemical attributes of a low floodplain (varzea) soil of the Guamá river, in different periods, cultivated with Paramaribo canarana (Echinochloa polystachya H.B.K) or canarana erecta lisa (Echinochloa pyramidales Lam). The experimental design was entirely randomized, in a 4 x […]