Temporal variability of soil CO2 emission after conventional and reduced tillage described by an exponential decay in time model

A quantificação do impacto das práticas de preparo sobre as perdas de carbono do solo é dependente da habilidade de se descrever a variabilidade temporal da emissão de CO2 do solo após preparo. Tem sido sugerido que as grandes quantidades de CO2 emitido após o preparo do solo podem servir como um indicador das modificações nos estoques de carbono do solo em longo termo. Neste trabalho é apresentado um modelo de duas partes baseado na temperatura e na umidade do solo e que inclui um termo exponencial decrescente do tempo que é eficiente no ajuste das emissões intermediárias após preparo: arado de disco seguido de uma passagem com a grade niveladora (convencional) e escarificador de arrasto seguido da passagem com rolo destorroador (reduzido). As emissões após o preparo do solo são descritas utilizando-se estimativa não linear com um coeficiente de determinação (R²) tão alto quanto 0.98 após preparo reduzido. Os resultados indicam que nas previsões da emissão de CO2 após o preparo do solo é importante considerar um termo exponencial decrescente no tempo após preparo.

GPS receivers for georeferencing of spatial variability of soil attributes

A caracterização da variabilidade espacial dos atributos do solo é indispensável para subsidiar práticas agrícolas de maneira sustentável. A utilização da geoestatística para caracterizar a variabilidade espacial desses atributos, como a resistência mecânica do solo à penetração (RP) e a umidade gravimétrica do solo (UG), é, hoje, prática usual na agricultura de precisão. O resultado da análise geoestatística é dependente da densidade amostral e de outros fatores, como o método de georreferencimento utilizado. Desta forma, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo comparar dois métodos de georreferenciamento para a caracterização da variabilidade espacial da RP e da UG, bem como a correlação espacial dessas variáveis. Foi implantada uma malha amostral de 60 pontos, espaçados em 20 m. Para as medições da RP, utilizou-se de penetrógrafo eletrônico e, para a determinação da UG, utilizou-se de trado holandês (profundidade de 0,0-0,1 m). As amostras foram georreferenciadas, utilizando-se do método de Posicionamento por Ponto Simples (PPS), com de (retirar) receptor GPS de navegação, e Posicionamento Relativo Semicinemático, com receptor GPS geodésico L1. Os resultados indicaram que o georreferenciamento realizado pelo PPS não interferiu na caracterização da variabilidade espacial da RP e da UG, assim como na estrutura espacial da relação dos atributos.

Spatial variability of soil physical properties in two management systems in sugarcane crop

O objetivo deste trabalho foi caracterizar a variabilidade espacial da densidade do solo (Ds), teor de água no solo (θ) e porosidade total (Pt) em dois sistemas de manejo da colheita da cana-de-açúcar, com queima e sem queima, em um Latossolo Vermelho, na camada de 0-0,20 m. A área de estudo está localizada no município de Rio Brilhante-MS, na Usina Eldorado. A parcela de cada talhão apresentou malha com comprimento de 180 m e largura de 145,6 m, perfazendo 90 pontos distribuídos na forma de uma grade de nove colunas por dez linhas, com pontos distanciados 20 m de seu vizinho. Foram coletadas amostras de solo na camada de 0-0,20 m, nos anos agrícolas de 2007/2008 e 2008/2009. O sistema de colheita com queima apresentou maior densidade em relação ao mecanizado, nos dois períodos de análise. O teor de água no solo, assim como a porosidade, teve aumento proporcional com relação à diminuição da densidade do sistema de colheita com queima para com o mecanizado.

Estimation and evaluation of dynamic properties as indicators of changes on soil structure in sugarcane fields of São Paulo State - Brazil

The indiscriminate management and use of soils without moisture control has changed the structure of it due to the increment of the traffic by agricultural machines through the years, causing in consequence, a soil compaction and yield reduction in the areas of intensive traffic. The purpose of this work was to estimate and to evaluate the performance of preconsolidation pressure of the soil and shear stress as indicators of changes on soil structure in fields cropped with sugarcane, as well as the impact of management processes in an Eutrorthox soil structure located in São Paulo State. The experimental field was located in Piracicaba's rural area (São Paulo State, Brazil) and has been cropped with sugarcane, in the second harvest cycle. The soil was classified by Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA) [Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA), 1999. Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Solos. Sistema Brasileiro de Classificao de Solos, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA), Brasilia, 412 pp.] as an Eutrorthox. Undisturbed samples were collected and georeferenced in a grid of 60 m x 60 m from two depths: 0-0.10 m (superficial layer - SL) and in the layer of greatest mechanical resistance (LGMR), previously identified by cone index (CI). The investigated variables were pressure preconsolidation (sigma(p)), apparent cohesion (c) and internal friction angle (phi). The conclusions from the results were that the SLSC was predicted satisfactorily from up as a function of soil moisture; thus, decisions about machinery size and loading (contact pressures) can be taken. Apparent cohesion (c), internal friction angle (phi) and the Coulomb equation were significantly altered by traffic intensity. The sigma(p), c and phi maps were shown to be important tools to localize and visualize soil compaction and mechanical resistance zones. They constitute a valuable resource to evaluate the traffic impact in areas cropped with sugarcane in State of São Paulo, Brazil. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatial variability of soil water content and mechanical resistance of Brazilian ferralsol

The spatial variability of mechanical resistance to penetration (PR) and gravimetric moisture (GM) was studied at a depth of 0-0.40 m, in a ferralsol cropped with corn, and under conventional tillage in llha Solteira, Brazil (latitude 20 degrees 17'S, and longitude 52 degrees 25'W). The purpose of this study was to analyse and to try explaining the spatial variability of the mentioned soil physical properties using geostatistics. Soil data was collected at points arranged on the nodes of a mesh with 97 points. Geostatistics was used to analyse the spatial variability of PR and GM at four depths: 0-0. 1, 0.1-0.2, 0.2-0.3 and 0.3-0.4 m. PR showed a higher variability of data, with coefficients of variation of 52.39, 30.54, 16.91, and 15.18%, from the surface layers to the deepest layers. The values of the coefficients of variation for GM were lower: 9.99, 5.13, 5.59, and 5.69%. Correlation between GM and PR for the same soil layers was low. Penetration resistance showed spatial structure only in the 0.30-0.40 m layer, while gravimetric moisture showed spatial structure at all depths except for 0-0. 10 m. All the models of fitted semivariograms were spherical and exponential, with ranges of 10-80 m. Data for the variable 'GM' in the 0.20-0.30 and 0.30-0.40 m layers revealed a trend in data attributed to the occurrence of subsurface water flow. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recovery of soil physical properties by green manure, liming, gypsum and pasture and spontaneous native species

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Evaluation of the use of vinasse as a biostimulation agent for the biodegradation of oily sludge in soil

Este trabalho objetivou estudar o efeito da vinhaça na biodegradação em solo da borra oleosa proveniente da refinaria de petróleo Replan-Petrobras. Foi utilizado o método respirométrico de Bartha para verificar a eficiência de tratamentos constituídos de solo, borra oleosa nas concentrações 7 e 14 % (m/m) e ajuste da umidade do solo com e sem vinhaça (0,11 mL/g solo seco) durante 121 dias. Embora a adição da vinhaça tenha proporcionado um aumento da população microbiana nos tratamentos, esta não se mostrou adequada para aumentar a eficiência de biodegradação da borra oleosa em solo, uma vez que não houve diferença entre o CO2 produzido nos tratamentos com ou sem vinhaça após o consumo total da vinhaça. Assim, o uso da vinhaça como agente estimulante em processos de biodegradação mostrou-se ineficiente nas condições estudadas.

Heavy metals in a degraded soil treated with sludge from water treatment plant

A aplicação do lodo de estação de tratamento de água (LETA) em solos degradados é uma alternativa tanto para disposição desse resíduo como para a recuperação do solo. Neste trabalho avaliaram-se os efeitos do LETA nos teores de metais pesados em um Latossolo degradado por mineração de cassiterita na Floresta Nacional do Jamari, RO, Brasil. Utilizou-se delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado com cinco tratamentos: testemunha (n = 4); testemunha química, que recebeu apenas calagem (n = 4) e doses D100, D150 e D200 (respectivamente 100, 150 e 200 mg de N kg-1 solo na forma de LETA), aplicadas antes da calagem (n = 20). Após 30 dias da calagem, período em que o solo contido nos vasos foi mantido com teor de umidade próximo à capacidade de retenção, coletaram-se amostras de solo, que foram analisadas com relação aos teores totais e extraíveis de Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, Cd, Pb, Ni e Cr. A aplicação de LETA aumentou os teores dos metais pesados do solo. A aplicação deste tipo de lodo em áreas degradadas pode causar impacto ambiental e, portanto, deve ser monitorada.

Carbon dioxide emission related to chemical properties of a tropical bare soil

In this work the relationship between CO2 emissions and the soil properties of a tropical Brazilian bare soil was investigated. Carbon dioxide emissions were measured on three different days at different soil temperature and the soil moisture conditions, and the soil properties were investigated at the same points that emissions were measured. The soil CO2 emissions were correlated to carbon content, cation exchange capacity and free iron content at the 65 points studied in an area of 100 x 100 m located in southern Brazil. (C) 2000 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Short-term soil CO2 emission after conventional and reduced tillage of a no-till sugar cane area in southern Brazil

The impact of tillage systems on soil CO2 emission is a complex issue as different soil types are managed in various ways, from no-till to intensive land preparation. In southern Brazil, the adoption of a new management option has arisen most recently, with no-tillage as well as no burning of crops residues left on soil surface after harvesting, especially in sugar cane areas. Although such practice has helped to restore soil carbon, the tillage impact on soil carbon loss in such areas has not been widely investigated. This study evaluated the effect of moldboard plowing followed by offset disk harrow and chisel plowing on clay oxisolCO(2) emission in a sugar cane field treated with no-tillage and high crop residues input in the last 6 years. Emissions after tillage were compared to undisturbed soil CO2 emissions during a 4-week period by using an LI-6400 system coupled to a portable soil chamber. Conventional tillage caused the highest emission during almost the whole period studied, except for the efflux immediately following tillage, when the reduced plot produced the highest peak. The lowest emissions were recorded 7 days after tillage, at the end of a dry period, when soil moisture reached its lowest rate. A linear regression between Soil CO2 effluxes and soil moisture in the no-till and conventional plots corroborate the fact that moisture, and not soil temperature, was a controlling factor. Total soil CO2 loss was huge and indicates that the adoption of reduced tillage would considerably decrease soil carbon dioxide emission in our region, particularly during the summer season and when growers leave large amounts of crop residues on the soil surface. Although it is known that crop residues are important for restoring soil carbon, our result indicates that an amount equivalent to approximately 30% of annual crop carbon residues could be transferred to the atmosphere, in a period of 4 weeks only, when conventional tillage is applied on no-tilled soils. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Short-term temporal changes in the spatial variability model of CO2 emissions from a Brazilian bare soil

In this work, the spatial variability model of CO2 emissions and soil properties of a Brazilian bare soil were investigated. Carbon dioxide emissions were measured on three different days at contrasted soil temperature and soil moisture conditions, and soil properties were investigated at the same points where emissions were measured. One spatial variability model of soil CO2 emissions was found for each measurement day, and these models are similar to the ones of soil properties studied in an area of 100 x 100 m. (C) 2000 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

The influence of the caruncle on the germination of castor seed under high salinity or low soil water content

The caruncle is a structure present in the micropylar region of Euphorbiaceae seeds. This structure has the ecological function of promoting seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory), but it is debated whether it also has an agronomical importance influencing seed germination. The influence of the caruncle on castor (Ricinus communis) seed germination was evaluated under low soil water content and high soil salinity. Seeds were germinated at soil water storage capacities varying from 22 to 50% and salinities (NaCl) varying from 0 to 10 dS m(-1) The germination (%) increased following the increments in soil moisture. hut the caruncle had no influence on this process at any moisture level. In one genotype. more root dry mass was produced when caruncle was excised. Increasing salinity reduced the percentage and speed of germination of castor seeds, but no influence of caruncle was detected. No evidence of caruncle influencing castor seed germination was found under low soil water content and high salinity.

Spatial and temporal variability of soil CO2 emission in a sugarcane area under green and slash-and-burn managements

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Water table effects on bean yield and nitrate distribution in the soil profile

In order to evaluate the bean yield under different water table levels as well as the moisture and nitrate distribution in the soil profile, a field experiment was carried out at the experimental area from the College of Agronomic Sciences - UNESP, Botucatu, SP, Brazil. Beans were grown in field lysimeters and subjected to five water table depths:30; 40; 50; 60 and 70 cm. The moisture in the soil profile was gravimetrically determined through samples obtained at 10; 20; 30; 40; 50; 60 and 70cm of depth. The water table depths of 30cm and 40cm showed the highest productivities (3,228.4 kg.ha-1 and 3,422.1 kg.ha-1, respectively), showing no statistical differences between each other. The highest productivity was related to the two most elevated water table levels (30 and 40cm), which provided the highest moisture average values on basis of volume in the soil profile (33.3 e 31%) as well as the consumptive use of water (416 and 396 mm). The nitrate content during the bean cycle at the extraction depth of 60cm has been under the safe drinking limit of 10 mg.1-1 for water table depths of 30; 40; 50 and 60cm, showing the denitrification effectiveness as a way of controlling water table from nitrate pollution. The water table handling allowed the attainment of high bean productivity levels, as well as the reduction of the nitrate level.

Corn root length density and root diameter as affected by soil compaction and soil water content

Negative effects of soil compaction have been recognized as one of the problems restricting the root system and consequently impairing yields, especially in the Southern Coastal Plain of the USA. Simulations of the root restricting layers in green house studies are necessary for the development of mechanism which alleviates soil compaction problems in these soils. The selection of three distinct bulk densities based on the standard proctor test is also an important factor to determine which bulk density restricts the root layer. The experiment was conducted to assess the root length density and root diameter of the corn (Zea mays L.) crop as a function of bulk density and water stress, characterized by the soil density (1.2; 1.4, and 1.6 g cm -3), and two levels of the water content, approximately (70 and 90% field capacity). The statistical design adopted was completely randomized design, with four replicates in a factorial pattern of (3 × 2). The PVC tubes were superimposed with an internal diameter of 20 cm with a height of 40 cm (the upper tube 20 cm, compacted and inferior tube 10 cm), the hardpan with different levels of soil compaction were located between 20 and 30 cm of the depth of the pot. Results showed that: the main effects of subsoil mechanical impedance were observed on the top layer indicating that the plants had to penetrate beyond the favorable soil conditions before root growth was affected from 3.16; 2.41 to 1.37 cm cm -3 (P<0.005). There was a significant difference at the hardpan layer for the two levels of water and 90% field capacity reduced the root growth from 0.91 to 0.60 cm cm -3 (P<0.005). The root length density and root diameter were affected by increasing soil bulk density from 1.2 to 1.6 g cm -3 which caused penetration resistance to increase to 1.4 MPa. Soil water content of 70% field capacity furnished better root growth in all the layers studied. The increase in root length density resulted in increased root volume. It can also be concluded that the effect of soil compaction impaired the root diameter mostly at the hardpan layer. Soil temperature had detrimental effect on the root growth mostly with higher bulk densities.