Volume 32, Number 1, 2008

Boron (B) adsorption by soils affects its bioavailable contents and contamination potential. The objectives of this study were: (a) to investigate the effects of pH variation on B adsorption by topsoil and subsoil samples from an Anionic “Rhodic” Acrudox (RA), an Anionic “Xanthic” Acrudox (XA) – both with a positive balance of charge in Bw horizon – and a Rhodic Kandiudalf (RK); (b) to evaluate the ability of the Langmuir model of simulating the experimental results of B adsorption; and […]

The organic acids from the organic matter decomposition, root exudation and microbial activity, play an important role on physical and chemical soil conditions. However their efficiency is conditioned to the quality and kind of organic acids and interactions with the soil mineral surface. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of humic and organic acids of high and low molecular weight on the physical and chemical properties of B horizons of four Oxisols and one Plinthustult, and […]

In this study the distribution of lipid compounds was evaluated in sediment samples of an archaeological site Rio do Meio, Santa Catarina Island, Brazil. In the total lipid extracts, analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC and GC-MS), saturated fatty acids and alcohols were predominant. At least two sources of organic matter were detected, an older and a more recent one. In the old deposit, the most abundant lipids were short-chain fatty acids (< Ac20:0), followed by a minor composition […]

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) establishing efficient symbiosis with plants play an important role on ecosystem sustainability and can be useful for revegetation of degraded lands. Symbiotic efficiency is related to AMF genotypes and plant species, as well as to environmental conditions that may affect the expression of symbiotic relationships. Thus, the first step to an efficient AMF symbiosis management is to study fungal variability regarding the efficiency with different host species. In this study root colonization and efficiency of several […]

The biological soil activity is responsible for several physical and chemical transformations of deposited organic residues, therefore maintaining the environmental sustainability. The aim of this study was to evaluate the distribution of the soil microbial community and mesofauna in a dry forest (Caatinga) in the semi-arid region of Paraíba, northeastern Brazil. To determine the microorganism population soil samples from the 0-15 cm soil layer were evaluated. Total counts of fungi and bacteria were evaluated in specific culture media. The Berleusse-Tüllgren modified […]

Nitrogen is the nutrient that is most absorbed by corn crop, influences grain yield most, and requires the most complex management. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of nitrogen (urea 15N) rate and split-applications, on grain yield, N fertilizer utilization and amount of soil native N absorbed by corn crop in a Red Latosol. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design, with nine treatments and four replications, represented by five N rates: 0, […]

Manganese (Mn) toxicity may be a constraint for crop production in acid soils of tropical regions. However, variations of Mn concentrations in plant tissues are also related to the genotypic differences. A greenhouse experiment was carried out to evaluate Mn tolerance of three soybean cultivars [Glycine max (L.) Merrill]. Cultivars Santa Rosa, IAC-15 and IAC-Foscarin 31 were evaluated under five Mn rates (2, 100, 150, 200, and 250 µmol L-1) in nutrient solution (pH 5.0). The experiment in randomized blocks was a 5 x 3 factorial […]

It is necessary to evaluate the soil physical and chemical attributes in studies that explore grazing systems intensively. In this work the variation in physical and chemical attributes of an Alfissol cultivated with Panicum maximum Jacq. cv. IPR-86 Milênio under grazing were evaluated from October 2001 to May 2002, in the fifth year of consecutive N application at rates of 0, 150, 300, and 450 kg ha-1. After five successive applications of 450 kg ha-1 N, the OM content increased 5 g dm-3, which resulted in […]

Most of the pig manure generated in the swine production in southern Brazil is handled and stored as liquid manure, but there is a growing interest in adopting the deep-litter production system and using the resulting organic material as fertilizer. A field experiment was carried out on a typic Hapludalf in an experimental area of the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, state of Rio Grande do Sul, from October 2002 to March 2003, to evaluate the soil N […]

The reliability of soil analysis depends on the correlation of nutrient concentration in the soil obtained by a given method with the plant nutrient uptake. The objective of this study was to evaluate the correlations between phosphorus content estimated by different methods and phosphorus quantity absorbed by rice plants in some flooded soils from Rio Grande do Sul state (RS), Brazil. Soil samples from 16 locations in RS, largely different in soil chemical and physical properties, were collected from the […]