Volume 42, 2018

ABSTRACT A commonly accepted concept holds that highly fertile, shallow soils are predominant in the Basaltic Hillsides of Santa Catarina State, in southern Brazil, but their agricultural use is restricted, either by excessive stoniness, low effective depth or steep slopes. Information about soil properties and distribution along the slopes in this region is, however, scarce, especially regarding genesis and clay fraction mineralogy. The objective of this study was to evaluate soil properties of 12 profiles distributed in three toposequences (T) […]

ABSTRACT Lithological and geomorphological variations determine formation of soils with different mineralogical constitutions and can influence the distribution of potentially toxic elements (PTE). The aim of this study was to determine the contents of PTE and mineralogical assemblages along soil profiles of different classes and parent materials and to investigate the association among these factors in the São Francisco sedimentary basin in the northern part of the state of Minas Gerais (Brazil). Eight soil pedons of different classes that developed […]

ABSTRACT: Organic fertilization effect on physical-chemical properties in no-tillage systems in tropical soils has been widely investigated, but little is known about the effects of this practice on the mineralogy of the clay fraction. This study aimed to evaluate the clay-fraction mineralogy of two subtropical soils, fertilized with organic residues in long-term no-tillage systems. An Alfisol fertilized with 0, 40, and 80 m3 ha-1 yr-1 pig slurry was evaluated for eight years, and an Oxisol with 0, 8, and 16 […]

ABSTRACT Water erosion is one of the main environmental impacts of land use. When soil and water losses occur, nutrients essential for the growth and maintenance of plants are removed, with harmful outcomes on the sustainability of agriculture and the environment. In addition, they lead to other deleterious effects, such as sedimentation and eutrophication of water bodies. Estimation of soil losses due to water erosion in sub-basins is essential for prediction of soil degradation, especially in areas of semi-intensive cultivation, […]

ABSTRACT: Research focused on adequate nutrition of plants is essential in modern coffee production to increase yield and develop more efficient management strategies with greater environmental and economic sustainability. The objectives of this study were to establish critical and optimal levels of soil fertility properties for high yielding Arabica coffee crops using the Boundary Line method and, then, relate the macronutrient contents in the diagnostic leaf of coffee to the macronutrients available in the soil using the Quadrant Diagram of […]

ABSTRACT Soil microbial biomass plays a significant role in soils, and it is often used as an early indicator of change in soil quality. Soil microbial biomass is affected by different fertilization management practices. Therefore, the impact of different long-term fertilization management practices on the soil organic carbon (SOC) content, soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC), and soil microbial biomass nitrogen (SMBN), as well as the soil microbial quotient (SMQ) in the tilled layer (0.00-0.20 m) were studied in the present […]

ABSTRACT: Seagrass meadows are considered one of the most important and valuable ecosystems on the planet, but also one of the most threatened. Missing knowledge about their existence and their subtidal nature are the main reasons for the lack of information about seagrass soils, especially in Brazil and other tropical areas. This study discussed the paradoxical lack of information about subaqueous soils, with a view to stimulate research on soil properties of seagrass meadows. This short communication provides information about […]

ABSTRACT Geostatistics allows the evaluation of the distribution pattern of data with high spatial variability in agricultural systems. This study aimed to evaluate the spatial variability of biological diversity indices of soil fauna under different land (agriculture and forest). Samples were collected in seven areas (millet, soybean, corn, eucalyptus, pasture crops, and preserved and disturbed Cerrado), in Maranhão state, Brazil. The soil fauna was caught trapped in pitfall traps, installed 3 m away from each other. In each area, 130 […]

ABSTRACT Digital soil mapping (DSM) has been increasingly used to provide quick and accurate spatial information to support decision-makers in agricultural and environmental planning programs. In this study, we used a DSM approach to map soils in western Haiti and compare the performance of the Multinomial Logistic Regression (MLR) with Random Forest (RF) to classify the soils. The study area of 4,300 km2 is mostly composed of diverse limestone rocks, alluvial deposits, and, to a lesser extent, basalt. A soil […]

ABSTRACT: The impact on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions caused by combining dairy slurry (DS) and urea to supply crops with nitrogen (N) is still not well characterized. The main objective of this study was to compare the differences between N2O emissions in the cases of exclusive use of urea and the combined use of DS and urea as N sources to no-tillage wheat and corn. We also compared N2O emissions between two DS application methods (surface-broadcast vs. injection), as well […]