Volume 31, Number 5, 2007

This study aimed at characterizing the chemical aspects of the humin compounds of a degraded clay extraction area covered with spontaneous vegetation of Brachiaria mutica (Forsk) Stapf or afforested with Acacia mangium Willd. After extraction and purification, humin was subjected to transesterification using BF3-MeOH (boron trifluorate methanol) to obtain the aliphatic and aromatic sub-fractions. These sub-fractions were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The following compounds were identified in the aliphatic sub-fraction of the A. mangium site: methyl hexadecanoate, methyl octadecanoate, […]

The agricultural use of biosolids has been stimulated, however, as the chemical composition of these residues is varied, the agronomic value and effects on soil quality characteristics need to be individually assessed in order to establish safety norms for their application. The present work evaluated biological characteristics after the application for two consecutive years of increasing doses (0, 6, 12, 18 and 24 t ha-1 dry matter) of biosolid generated by a PET fiber and resin industry. There was also […]

Leaf-cutting ants (Atta spp.) are widely distributed in South America, and are considered to be important components of the neotropical ecosystems. Several studies have demonstrated the effect of ant-nesting in soil enrichment, thus facilitating vegetation succession. Possibly, this enrichment is due to decomposed organic matter concentration after disposal of nest refuse in the deep soil by the colonies. However, little is known about the chemical composition of refuse material produced by leaf-cutting ants. The present work aimed to compare the […]

Two species of coffee (Coffea arabica L. and Coffea canephora Pierre) are cultivated in Brazil, but most research on Zn fertilization to date has focused on C. arabica. This study was carried out to determine the functional relationship between soil Zn availability determined by DTPA and Mehlich-1 extractors and Zn content in coffee plants belonging to the species C. arabica, cv. Mundo Novo IAC 379-19 (MN) and C. canephora, cv. Apoatã IAC 2258 (AP), as well as grafted plants (MN/AP). […]

Studies about solute movement in soil are frequently realized under laboratory conditions, in apparently controlled situations. A review of these studies showed that the variable time, to obtain the stationary condition, is frequently neglected. In view of this fact, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the time it takes until the water flow in saturated soil reaches the steady-state, by measuring saturated hydraulic conductivity (K0). The steady-state is the stage that precedes the application of the ion into […]

The planning of agricultural and civil engineering activities must be based on knowledge of rainfall erosion potential. For Quarai, RS, Brazil, the rainfall erosivity and its relationship with precipitation and rainfall coefficient, rainfall patterns and rainfall return period were determined. Daily rainfall data from the 1966-2003 period were used. For each erosive rainfall the segments of the rainfall chart with the same intensity were separated and the data recorded in a worksheet. The mean precipitation and rainfall patterns were estimated, […]

A software for the calculation of unsaturated soil hydraulic conductivity K(q) is presented for commonly used methods found in the literature, based on field experiments in which a soil profile is submitted to water infiltration followed by internal drainage. The software is available at: dourado@esalq.usp.br.