Soil Attributes and Production of Eucalyptus in Monoculture and Silvopastoral Systems in the North of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical and physical attributes of soil, and the productivity of Eucalyptus cultivated in monoculture and silvopastoral systems. The experiment started in 2009 and evaluated the following four systems: native vegetation system (Cerrado), a degraded pasture, a Eucalyptus urograndis monoculture (E. urophylla × E. grandis) and a silvopastoral system (E. urograndis combined with Brachiaria brizantha cv. "Marandu"). The experimental design used was completely randomized. In each system, four soil samples were collected from the 0-20 cm depth layer, and the chemical and physical attributes of the soil were evaluated. The diameters of all Eucalyptus trees at 1.30 m above the ground as well as the total height were measured. Subsequently, the trees dimensions were measured and their individual volumes obtained by applying the Smalian formula. The correlation between the parameters for Eucalyptus production and soil attributes was established using the Pearson's correlation coefficient method. The planting of Eucalyptus in monoculture and silvopastoral systems contributed to the improvement of the soil's chemical and physical attributes, which indicates the potential of these systems for recovery of degraded pastures. The silvopastoral system yielded the highest average volume of wood per tree (0.2228 m 3), with a productivity of 111.4 m 3 /ha. The Eucalyptus monoculture yielded 0.1895 m 3 per tree and 315.71 m 3 /ha due to the higher density of the crop. The growth and productivity of Eucalyptus showed highly correlation with the soil attributes, thus suggesting that well-managed crops are an indicator of the soil quality recovery.

Diversity of arthropods on Acacia mangium (Fabaceae) and production of this plant with dehydrated sewage sludge in degraded area

“…The climate of this region is Aw: tropical savannah, with dry winter and rainy summer, according to the Köppen classification [32]. The soil type is litolic neosoil [33] with average texture, total sand = 42.0 dag Kg -1 , silt = 36.0 dag Kg -1 , clay = 22.0 dag Kg -1 , pH-H 2 O = 5.0, organic matter = 4.4 dag Kg -1 , P = 1.5 mg dm -3 , K = 92.0 mg dm -3 , Ca = 1.9 cmol c dm -3 , Mg = 0.8 cmol c dm -3 , Al = 2.4 cmol c dm -3 , H + Al = 6.7 cmol c dm -3 , cation-exchange capacity (CEC) = 5.3 cmol c dm -3 and CEC at natural pH 7.0 = 9.6 cmol c dm -3 after soil chemical and physical analysis carried out in 2014 in a laboratory using standard international protocols [34].…”

Insects and spiders on Acacia mangium (Fabaceae) saplings as bioindicators for the recovery of tropical degraded areas

“…This area, according to the Köppen climate classification, is dry tropical; with annual rainfall between 1,000-1,300 mm, dry winter, and average annual temperature ≥ 18 °C (Alvares et al, 2013). The soil is of the Neosol Litolic type with an Alic horizon (Santana et al, 2016), and its physical-chemical characteristics have been described (Silva et al, 2020).…”

Chewing insects, pollinators, and predators on Acacia auriculiformis A. Cunn. ex Beth (Fabales: Fabaceae) plants fertilized with dehydrated sewage sludge

“…The climate of the area, according to the Köppen climate classification, is tropical dry, with annual rainfall between 1000 and 1300 mm, dry winter, and average annual temperature ≥ 18ºC (Alvares et al, 2013). The soil type is litolic neosoil with average texture, total sand = 42.0 dag Kg -1 , silt = 36.0 dag Kg -1 , clay = 22.0 dag Kg -1 , pH -H 2 O = 5.0, organic matter = 4.4 dag Kg -1 , P = 1.5 mg dm -3 , K= 92.0 mg dm -3 , Ca = 1.9 cmolc dm -3 , Mg = 0.8 cmolc dm -3 , Al = 2.4 cmolc dm -3 , H + Al = 6.7 cmolc dm -3 , cation-exchange capacity (CEC) = 5.3 cmolc dm -3 , and CEC at natural pH 7.0 = 9.6 cmolc dm -3 (Santana et al, 2016) after soil chemical and physical analysis carried out in 2014 in a laboratory using standard international protocols (Pegoraro et al, 2018)…”