Volume 37, Number 3, 2013

Soil management systems, as those that integrate crop and livestock production, aiming at maintenance or recovering of soil quality, are indispensable for a sustainable agricultural management. Our hypothesis is that the land use for integrated crop-livestock systems improves soil physical properties, thus contributing to a sustainable agricultural soil use in the southwestern Cerrado region. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of different tillage systems on some soil physical properties of the Cerrado. The soil under study […]

The Araripe Plateau in the tropic semi-arid region is characterized by great environmental diversity. The Araripe National Forest and several forest management units (FMU) are located in this area with mostly red-yellow Oxisols. The goal of this study was to identify a basic indicator that could represent a set of physical, chemical and biological properties of soils of the Plateau. Multivariate analysis was used to indicate changes in soil properties of a FMU. Soil samples were analyzed in triplicate (0-20 […]

Histosols are formed under geomorphic and climate conditions that allow the accumulation of organic material, and their drainage for agriculture leads to the subsidence process and changes in the content of soil organic matter (SOM), with implications in the sustainability of these soils. The objective of this study was to evaluate some physical properties of Histosols and their relationship to SOM content and degree of decomposition in soils formed under hydromorphic conditions in the states of Rio de Janeiro (Aw […]

The least limiting water range (LLWR) is one of the best indicators of soil physical quality in intensive production systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical quality of a Typic Haplorthox by the LLWR after three crop growing seasons and the first year of crop-livestock integration in Xambrê, northwestern Paraná, Brazil. The experiment was established in a randomized block design with three replications. Treatments consisted of four brachiaria heights before grazing (0.10; 0.20; 0.30, and 0.40 […]

In the semiarid region of Brazil, inadequate management of cropping systems and low plant biomass production can contribute to reduce soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks; therefore, management systems that preserve C and N must be adopted. This study aimed to evaluate the changes in soil C and N stocks that were promoted by agroforestry (agrosilvopastoral and silvopastoral) and traditional agricultural systems (slash-and-burn clearing and cultivation for two and three years) and to compare these systems with the natural […]

The soil loss prediction models have become important tools for conservation planning, being fundamental the local estimation of the parameters that influence the erosion processes. The objective of this work was to determine the soil erodibility (K factor), soil cover and management factor (C factor) and conservation practice factor (P factor) of the Universal Soil Erosion Equation (USLE), in an Ultisol. Soil losses (SL) were measured in Wischmeier standard-plots from 2006 to 2011, with the respective erosivity index (EI30). Soil […]

Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is one of the main environmental impacts caused by mining. Thus, innovative mitigation strategies should be exploited, to neutralize acidity and prevent mobilization of trace elements in AMD. The use of industrial byproducts has been considered an economically and environmentally effective alternative to remediate acid mine drainage. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the use of steel slag to mitigate acid mine drainage in a sulfidic material from a uranium mine, as an […]

Successive applications of pig slurry and pig deep litter may lead to an accumulation of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) fractions in the soil profile. The objective of this study was to evaluate the Cu and Zn forms and accumulation in a Sandy Typic Hapludalf soil after long-term application of pig slurry and deep litter. In March 2010, eight years after initiating an experiment in Braço do Norte, Santa Catarina (SC), Brazil, on a Sandy Typic Hapludalf soil, soil samples […]