Impact of Management on the Physical Attributes of a Dystrophic Yellow Latosol

Abstract

Soil use and management systems aim to create conditions that are favorable to crop growth. The hypothesis is that areas subject to intensive use of agricultural machinery and animal trampling tend to have a soil structure that is altered by aggregate fragmentation, which causes soil compaction and consequently decreases the soil's physical and hydraulic properties. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the physical and hydraulic parameters of a dystrophic yellow latosol in an area of Cerrado in the municipality of Chapadinha, Maranhão, Brazil under different use and management systems. The following five use and management systems were studied with five replicates: native forest (control), slash-and-burn agriculture, grassland, no-till crop production and conventional tillage. Data analysis was performed using a completely randomized experimental design. The soil's density, macroporosity, microporosity, total porosity, hydraulic conductivity, infiltration, water retention curve, penetration resistance and Soil quality assessment index (S index) were assessed for all management systems. The soil use and management systems were found to have a significant effect on the penetration resistance and the water infiltration rate. The native forest and slash-and-burn agriculture areas provided the highest soil water infiltration rates and the lowest soil penetration resistance. A multivariate analysis identified the variables associated with each soil use and management system. The slash-and-burn agriculture area had the highest S index, which means it provided soil of the best physical quality.

Changes in Physical Quality of Oxisols Under Different Management Systems in the Brazilian Cerrado

“…This might have been caused by intense machinery traffic. These findings corroborate those of Farias et al (2017), who verified resistance to penetration increases due to changes in soil structure at surface and subterranean layers. In other words, this can be related to aggregation changes in the soil, which is mechanically fragmented by its excessive use, thus resulting in soil densification and compaction.…”

“…Therefore, soil properties were affected and water contents in samples of the different applied potentials reduced. By contrast, Farias et al (2017) found that soil horizons with the same textural class do not always present similar curves. Thus, soil textural class influence should also be considered.…”

“…Despite the intensive management, the studied areas showed good physical conditions for plant growth, given their S indexes above 0.056. These S indexes presented in porous systems are within the limits for arable soils, indicating soils with preserved structure, even that under conventional tillage (Farias et al, 2017). Figure 4 shows the hierarchical cluster analysis dendrogram for the soil managements.…”

“…This study was carried out in Chapadinha, Maranhão,Brazil (03° 44' 27'' S,43° 18' 44'' W, from February to May 2015 ( Figure 1). To add to our dataset, we also used the findings of Farias et al (2017) on the soil physical properties on the same areas and under different management systems, from 2013 to 2014. Therefore, our findings add substantial new information and do not repeat the results already presented by this previous study.…”

Physical Atributes of a Oxisol from the Brazilian Cerrado under Different Management Systems

“…The impacts can be summarized as changes in the macroporosity Wendling et al, 2012); aggregates stability (Fontenele et al, 2009;Santos et al, 2012;Servadio et al, 2016); organic matter content (Pragana et al, 2012;Santos et al, 2012); soil-water infiltration, aeration and permeability (Fontana et al, 2016;Farias et al, 2017).…”