Volume 32, Number 6, 2008

The maintenance and improvement of soil quality are crucial to the stability, sustainability and productivity of natural ecosystems and agroecosystems. The understanding and quantification of the impact of tillage systems in their physical quality are fundamental in the development of sustainable agricultural systems. This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of management practices on physical properties and organic matter content of an Ultisol cultivated with cassava following the use of distinct cover crops. A field experiment was carried […]

Soil science history studies are rare and the Brazilian scientific community has not given substantial attention to this subject yet. The present study focused on the formation of research on accelerated soil erosion in the Brazil from a bibliometric perspective. A comprehensive database of published scientific papers was organized in a relational database and analyzed by SQL queries and GIS tools. These data were used to calculate quantitative indicators and spatial distribution patterns. Results indicate a recent development of research […]

Native forests have frequently been substituted by Eucalyptus or annual crops cultivation in Brazil. In southern Minas Gerais State the substitution of Araucaria angustifolia forests by agricultural systems or extensive Eucalyptus stands has also been observed. However, few studies are focused on the impacts of such land use changes on soil physical, chemical and microbial and visual aspect of soils. With this goal in mind, different ecosystems were selected, including introduced Eucalyptus and Araucaria and native forest and pasture in […]

The objective of this work was to access spatial variations of soils from experimental plots for integrated coconut production based on the detailed mapping of soils and the construction of contour maps of soil properties. Observations and measurements were formed and samples collected in small trenches and soil profiles. The amount of soil clay from small trenches was evaluated in the field by finger touch feeling. Physical and chemical analyses were performed in all samples. Particle-size-distribution (profiles), Al, Ca and […]

The most important parameters of the LISEM model associated to surface runoff production (antecedent soil moisture (θap) and soil layer thickness), were calibrated by individual precipitation events in the Marcela Creek Watershed, Alto Rio Grande Region, MG. The hydrological effects of different land-uses in the watershed were also simulated. The model was highly sensitivity to soil moisture, which was the most important calibration paramete. The influence of the water balance layer was related to the soil moisture during calibration. It […]

It is convenient to apply nutrients in fertigation at an appropriate depth, in order to locate those elements at a convenient place for plant uptake. So, an experiment was carried out under laboratory conditions using percolation columns, to establish the irrigation lamina fraction in which N (NH4+ e NO3–), K+, and H2PO4– doses must be applied as well as the optimum dose fractioning of these nutrients so as to locate their adequate depth and determine the distribution of fertigated NH4+, […]

Loan areas near hydroelectric power plants can be considered degraded areas since they were stripped of their soil surface horizons. This study aimed to investigate the recovery of soil chemical attributes of a Red Latosol (Oxisol) used in the embankment and fill of the hydroelectric system in Ilha Solteira, São Paulo, Brazil, by green manure, lime and gypsum. The experiment had a randomized block design with seven treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of: one control (tilled soil and […]

The long-term residual effect of the herbicide picloram poses risks of leaching and phytotoxicity to successive crops. Phytoremediation can abbreviate the long carryover effect. This research was carried out from September 2006 to February 2007, under green house conditions, in Rio Verde, Goiás, Brazil, to study the influence of Eleusine coracana population density on phytoremediation of soil contaminated with picloram. The treatments consisted of the combination of four Eleusine coracana population densities (0, 7, 14 and 21 plants per pot, […]

Pig slurry serves as plant nutrient source, but may cause phosphorus accumulation in the soil when used improperly, which later can be transferred to the aquatic environment causing eutrophication. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential risk of environmental contamination by continuous use of pig slurry, measuring alterations in phosphorus content in the soil and in the sorption isotherms. The study was carried out at the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, in a Typic Hapludalf. The effects […]

Soil pollution with trace elements has been of great concern in the last years due to the increase in contaminated areas, which calls for a better understanding of trace element availability and environmental remediation. This study evaluated the performance of an aluminum industry by-product as soil amendment in Cd- and Pb-contaminated soils. Samples of a sandy (50 g kg-1 clay) and a clayey (540 g kg-1 clay) soil were mixed with polluted soil (15 %) with high Cd and Pb […]