Particulate soil organic carbon and stratification ratio increases in response to crop residue decomposition under no-till

In soils under no-tillage (NT), the continuous crop residue input to the surface layer leads to carbon (C) accumulation. This study evaluated a soil under NT in Ponta Grossa (State of Paraná, Brazil) for: 1) the decomposition of black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.) residues, 2) relation of the biomass decomposition effect with the soil organic carbon (SOC) content, the particulate organic carbon (POC) content, and the soil carbon stratification ratio (SR) of an Inceptisol. The assessments were based on seven samplings (t0 to t6) in a period of 160 days of three transects with six sampling points each. The oat dry biomass was 5.02 Mg ha-1 at t0, however, after 160 days, only 17.8 % of the initial dry biomass was left on the soil surface. The SOC in the 0-5 cm layer varied from 27.56 (t0) to 30.07 g dm-3 (t6). The SR increased from 1.33 to 1.43 in 160 days. There was also an increase in the POC pool in this period, from 8.1 to 10.7 Mg ha-1. The increase in SOC in the 0-5 cm layer in the 160 days was mainly due to the increase of POC derived from oat residue decomposition. The linear relationship between SOC and POC showed that 21 % of SOC was due to the more labile fraction. The results indicated that the continuous input of residues could be intensified to increase the C pool and sequestration in soils under NT.

Dimensão da malha amostral para caracterização da variabilidade espacial de fósforo e potássio em Latossolo Vermelho

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a acurácia na caracterização da variabilidade espacial de fósforo e potássio disponíveis no solo, pelo uso de diferentes dimensões de malhas amostrais, bem como a similaridade dos mapas temáticos gerados. O estudo foi conduzido em área de Latossolo Vermelho de 41,96 ha, em Boa Vista das Missões, RS. A amostragem de solo foi realizada na camada de 0,00-0,10 m, tendo-se utilizado sete dimensões de malha amostral: 50x50, 75x75, 100x100, 125x125, 150x150, 175x175 e 200x200 m. Os dados de P e K foram submetidos às análises de estatística descritiva e de geoestatística, e a similaridade dos mapas temáticos gerados foi analisada pelo coeficiente de desvio relativo e pela matriz de correlação de Pearson. A redução da dimensão da malha amostral aumenta a acurácia na caracterização da variabilidade espacial de P e K e, consequentemente, a qualidade das informações geradas por meio dos mapas temáticos. Malhas amostrais ≤100x100 m são recomendadas para planos de amostragem de solo adotados nas áreas de agricultura de precisão no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul.

Valuation models and Simon's bounded rationality

This paper aims at reconciling the evidence that sophisticated valuation models are increasingly used by companies in their investment appraisal with the literature of bounded rationality, according to which objective optimization is impracticable in the real world because it would demand an immense level of sophistication of the analytical and computational processes of human beings. We show how normative valuation models should rather be viewed as forms of reality representation, frameworks according to which the real world is perceived, fragmented for a better understanding, and recomposed, providing an orderly method for undertaking a task as complex as the investment decision.

Herbert A. Simon and the concept of rationality: boundaries and procedures

This paper discusses Herbert A. Simon's conception of rationality in two of its principal general definitions: bounded rationality and procedural rationality. It argues that the latter is the one that better synthesizes the author's view about rational behavior and that the former fills mainly a critical function. They are complementarily used by Simon in this sense. In spite of that, it is argued that it is the low degree of specificity of the concept of bounded rationality one of the reasons for its relatively greater success.