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The purpose of this research was to assess the effects of replacement of native "Cerrado" vegetation (NV) into croplands on soil chemical, physical and microbial properties. This research was carried out on a farm under Rhodic Hapludox soil with different types of agricultural managements systems, and it was used a NV to compare the systems. The experimental design was set up in completely randomized with five treatments and five repetitions. The treatments adopted were several agricultural management systems as follow; NV; CS_Crop system; LS_Livestock system; ICLS-4_Integrated crop-livestock system with four years of implementation; ICLS-8_Integrated crop-livestock system with eight years of implementation. It was assessed some chemical, physical, and microbial parameters in the soil, as soil pH, P content, exchangeable cations, cation exchange capacity, base saturation, cations saturation, soil organic carbon (SOC), soil bulk density (SBD), aggregate stability, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), basal breathing, and microbial quotient. The replacement of NV to ICLS decreased SOC, MBC, soil aggregate stability and increase of SBD. The ICLS improved "Cerrado" soil fertility over time adoption. This integrated system increased the quantity of exchangeable K + and P content in "Cerrado" soil. The ICLS-8 showed soil environment nearby the NV. Even the difficulty in obtaining the same physical and microbial condition of NV, the results of this research point out quite important observations, because just no-till system is not enough to obtain improvement of soil quality and the ICLS can return the soil properties close to native "Cerrado" vegetation.

An important strategy for the sustainable management of Cerrado soils is no-till (NT) systems, which may improve soil properties, particularly aggregation. Soil aggregates can be categorized according to their formation pathways into physicogenic (Phy) and biogenic (Bio). This study aimed (i) to quantify the relative proportion of physicogenic and biogenic aggregates and (ii) evaluate the levels of total organic carbon and their respective humic and physical fractions in the aggregates' formation pathways. The following managed and unmanaged sites were evaluated: a 6-year no-till site (6NT), an 18-year no-till site (18NT), a conventional tillage site (CT), and a reference Cerrado site (RS). Retained aggregates were analyzed morphologically, separated into Phy and Bio, and quantified. Subsequently, aggregates were subjected to total organic carbon (TOC) determination, fulvic acid carbon, humic acid carbon, humin carbon, particulate organic carbon (POC), mineral-associated organic carbon, and free light fraction carbon (FLFC). The proportion of Bio aggregates increased with decreasing management intensity. When TOC and humic acid carbon levels were compared between sites, it was found that Bio aggregates from 18NT and 6NT contained higher carbon content than Bio aggregates from CT. Particulate organic carbon and FLFC differed between aggregate types, with higher POC values observed in Bio aggregates from CT and 18NT and higher FLFC values in Bio aggregates from CT, 6NT, and 18NT. The practices adopted in the conservation management system favored biogenic aggregation in the Cerrado region, which can be proven through the study of the fractions of soil organic matter contained in these aggregates. The biogenic aggregation changed the SOM dynamics. Principal component analysis showed a clear distinction between conventional and conservationist management systems.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate i) the different cover crops contribution used in no-tillage system (NT) to biogenic aggregation; and ii) the influence of aggregate formation pathways on the compartmentalization and the soil organic carbon origin. Two areas managed under NT with different implementation times (6 and 18 years, NT06 and NT18, respectively) and cover crops were evaluated, totaling six sampling areas: NT06, millet (NT06MI); NT06, brachiaria (NT06BR); NT06, sunn hemp (NT06SH); NT18, millet (NT18MI); NT18, brachiaria (NT18BR); NT18, and sunn hemp (NT18SH). In each sampling area, five pseudo-replicates were collected in the 0.00-0.05 and 0.05-0.10 m layers. The samples were air-dried and sieved using sieves with 9.7 and 8.0 mm mesh, and the aggregates retained within this interval were selected. The percentage of each type of aggregate (physicogenic and biogenic) was quantified. Total organic carbon (TOC) and the natural abundance of δ13C (‰) were analyzed and the physical fractionations of SOM were performed: particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC) and density fractionation (free light fraction carbon, FLFC). Physicogenic aggregates were quantified in greater proportion, except for the areas of NT06BR and NT18BR in the 0.00-0.05 m layer. The biogenic aggregates showed the highest contents of TOC, POC, MAOC, FLFC and more negative values of δ13C. The use of grasses, especially Brachiaria spp., as cover plants in NT after 6 and 18 years of adoption favors the formation of aggregates through the biogenic pathway and they influence the compartmentalization and origin of stored organic carbon.