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.

Influence of biosolids rate on chemical properties of an oxisol in São Paulo, Brazil

Organic residues may cause major health and environmental problems. This is the case in our study area, where more than 10 billion L per year of residential and industrial waste are produced. Land application of biosolids can be an economical solution by recycling waste and can provide valuable fertilizer if used correctly. The aim of this work was to study the effect of biosolids on the chemical properties of an Oxisol. The experiment was located at Ilha Solteira northwest of São Paulo State, Brazil. The soil was cropped to Sorghum bicolor.The field experimental design consisted of random blocks with six treatments and four replications of each treatment. Biosolids were surface applied to four treatments at rates of 5, 10, 20, and 40 Mg ha(-1) on a dry matter basis; in addition, a treatment with mineral fertilizer and a control were included. One year after biosolids application, soil samples were taken at 0-10, 10-20, and 20-40 cm. Organic matter content (Walkley-Black) and pH (CaCl2) were routinely determined. Cation exchange capacity, exchangeable bases (Ca, Mg, K), and P were determined by exchange resin extraction. No significant differences in any of the analyzed properties were found below the 20 cm depth. Extractable phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) increased with increasing biosolids rate in the top 20 cm, whereas calcium (Ca) and (Ma) magnesium content were not significantly influenced by biosolids. Soil pH decreased with increasing biosolids application. The sewage sludge application did not influence the sorghum production in the first year of culture, under unfavorable soil moisture conditions, but it influenced the dry matter.

Determination of the betaine content of feed ingredients using high-performance liquid chromatography

A series of studies was conducted to establish a methodology for the accurate and efficient determination of betaine in different feed ingredients. The final methodology involves an extraction step in which the feed sample is heated for 3h in a methanolic KOH solution using a Goldfisch apparatus. Impurities are removed by the addition of activated charcoal and concentrated (36%) HCl. After centrifugation the extractant is passed through a strong cation exchange resin (Dowex 50W-X12, H+). The betaine retained in the column is eluted with 1.5 N HCl. A 2 nil aliquot of the elute is air dried and reconstituted with 1 ml of deionised water. HPLC separation with a cation exchange column (Partisil SCX-10) is used for the separation of betaine from other compounds. The mobile phase is kept constant at 50mm KH2PO4 in water, and eluted compounds are detected by UV absorbance (200nm). The flow rate is maintained at 1.5ml min(-1). This assay is very accurate over the range of betaine concentrations from 15 to 650 mug ml(-1), with a lower detection limit in feeds of approximately 500 mug g(-1) when 4g of sample is extracted. Recovery assays done with standard betaine hydrochloride and hard red wheat resulted in a consistent recovery of 80%. Betaine content was quantified in several feed ingredients, including alfalfa (1.77 mg kg(-1)), wheat (3.96 mg kg(-1)), wheat middlings (4.98 mg kg(-1)) and poultry meal (0.77 mg kg(-1)). Betaine in corn and soybean meal was not detectable by this method, even when 16g of sample was used (<125 mg kg(-1)). Betaine present in several feed ingredients should influence choline supplementation to animal feeds and may have implications for human health. (C) 2002 Society of Chemical Industry.

EVOLUTION PATTERNS OF THE SOIL ORGANIC-MATTER IN SOME AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS IN THE BRAZILIAN CERRADO REGION

Several changes in the soil humus characteristics were observed after clearing the Central Brazil virgin forest. When compared with the original ''Cerrado'' forest, the soils from the agricultural systems showed increased values for cation exchange capacity, total organic matter and non-extractable humin. The humic acid fraction underwent some changes suggesting increased oxidation and decreased aliphatic content. The soil organic N tends to accumulate in the insoluble humus fractions.The above changes were much less intense when the virgin forest was transformed into pastures. Under these conditions, the most significant changes were the reduction of readily biodegradable soil organic matter fractions.In view of the intensity of the lixiviation processes in the area studied, the above changes may be connected with the reduction in aggregate stability observed in the cleared sites.In general, the characteristics of the humus formations in the ''Cerrado'' region suggested high resistance to external factors, which is in part attributed to the active insolubilization of humic colloids by the Al and Fe oxides. In the absence of erosive processes in the cleared sites, additional humus stability may conform both to selective biodegradation and/or lixiviation of the humic colloids, or to the effects of the fire used in soil management.

Partially exchanged organophilic bentonites

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Lógica fuzzy na avaliação da fertilidade do solo e produtividade do café conilon

The objective of this study was to analyze, using the geoestatistic and a system of classification fuzzy, the fertility of an experimental area with base in chemical attributes of the soil and its relationship with the productivity of the conilon coffee. The study was accomplished in the experimental farm of the INCAPER - ES. The soil samples were collected in the depth of 0 - 0.2 m, being analyzed the attributes: matches, potassium, calcium and magnesium, aluminum, sum of bases, cation exchange capacity (pH 7), and saturation percentage. The data were submitted to a descriptive, exploratory, and geostatistical analysis. A system of fuzzy classification was applied using the attributes described to infer about the fertility of the soil and its relationship with the productivity of the culture. The fertility possibility presented positive spatial relationship with the productivity of the culture, with higher values of this where the possibility of fertile soil is superior.

Ceramic raw materials from the State of Maranhao, Brazil. Part 1: chemical and mineralogical characterization and technological properties of clays from Sao Luis, Rosario, Pinheiro and Mirinzal

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Correlation of properties of Brazilian Haplustalfs with magnetic susceptibility measurements

Magnetic susceptibility (chi, mass specific) is useful for easy indirect estimation of other soil properties at a low cost. The aim of this study was to assess the use of chi as measured with an analytical balance for predicting properties with a substantial influence on the management of Typic Haplustalfs in southern Brazil. To achieve this 48 topsoil samples were taken at the intersection points in a rectangular grid of 20 m x 20 m cells, with 38 of these used for calibration and 10 for validation in regression analyses. The obtained chi values were slightly higher than, and highly correlated (r = 0.970; P < 0.001) with those measured with a susceptibility meter. Highly significant (P < 0.001) correlations were also found between chi and other soil properties relevant to soil classification and management such as clay content (r = 0.68), cation exchange capacity (r = 0.62), P sorption capacity (r = 0.76) and haematite content (r = 0.82). Results from a principal component analysis of eight properties important for soil classification explained 11% of the variance in the data set. The good predictive ability of chi was consistent with current knowledge on the formation pathways for pedogenic ferrimagnets. In summary, chi, which can be readily measured with an analytical balance, has the potential for quantifying soil attributes and may therefore be used in pedotransfer functions.

Spatial variability of soil attributes and sugarcane yield in relation to topographic location

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

Reação do solo e disponibilidade de micronutrientes, em solo de textura média, tratado com lodo de esgoto e cultivado com milho

The evaluation of micronutrient availability in agricultural soil treated with sewage sludge was developed in Field with maize cultivation on a Dystrophic Red Latosol. The experiment used a randomized complete block design, with the treatments in a split-plot scheme, in time, with six doses of sewage sludge (main-plot treatment) in relation to the five sampling periods for the soil (subplot treatment), with four replications. The sewage sludge was applied in the superficial layer (0-20 cm). The micronutrients Fe, Cu, Mn and Zn were extracted from the soils using a DTPA (diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid) solution. The same micronutrients were analyzed in the plant tissue after the nitric-perchloric decomposition of the maize samples by spectrometric atomic absorption. The results showed an increasing amount of Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) and a decreasing pH in the soil. The increasing doses of sewage sludge increased the Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn availability in the soil solution, and the uptake amount by maize plants were always greater than the control values.

Características químicas de solo cultivado com soja e irrigado com água residuária da suinocultura

In this work the distribution was evaluated "in situ" of phosphorus (P), organic matter (MO), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), cation exchange capacity (CEC), aluminum (Al), sum of bases (S), base saturation (V) and pH of a soil cultivated with soybean and irrigated with swine wastewater in the 0, 25, 50 and 75% levels. The factorial scheme was constituted by the 20, 40 and 60 cm soil depths and four wastewater levels with five repetitions. The results showed that significant difference occurred only for P, K and CEC in the soil profile. However, in all parameters, the 60 cm soil depth showed that the concentrations levels are similar to before the aplication of treatments.

Efeito da aplicação de água residuária de suinocultura no solo e na qualidade dos seus lixiviados

This study evaluates the behavior of swine effluent for their effects on soil and the quality of the leachate. In the incubation of soil with effluent were used 48 units in total with experimental application rates of 0, 50, 100 and 150 m(3). ha(-1). The soil pH and leached after the application of different rates remained acid and the values of ammonia in the argisols (Pax; Ultisol) showed minor values than in the witness soil while at the nitosols the values increased due to the application rates. The cation exchange capacity increased with greater intensity in argisols. The carbon/nitrogen relation was low showing a rapid mineralization of organic waste. The values of nitrate in leachate and the first of the phosphorus nitosol were higher than in the argisols, depending on the rate of application.

Characterization, feasibility and optimization of Agaricus subrufescens growth based on chemical elements on casing layer

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Atributos químicos do solo sob plantio direto afetado por sistemas de culturas e fontes de adubação

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Indicators of soil degradation in urban forests: Physical and chemical parameters

The fragmentation of forest habitats in urban areas has aroused increasing interest in recent years according to the growing environmental problems. The fragmentation of theses ecosystems is caused, in general, by the pressure of housing, agriculture and industry, causing losses in biodiversity and problems of soil degradation in the border areas of theses remnants. The establishment of indicators of soil degradation becomes essential for the implementation of conservation and reclamation. This study analyzes physical and chemical characteristics of soil under different forms of vegetation in the forest surrounding the Quilombo Forest, located in Campinas/SP - Brazil, and examines the possibility of using these indices as indicators of environmental degradation in urban remnants. The parameters analyzed were: specific weight natural (γn), specific weight of solids (γs) Ca, P, K, Mg, pH, organic matter, H + Al, Sum of Base (SB) Percent Base Saturation (V%), Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC). The study shows that in general the different forms of land used in the study area significantly changed (or according to) the physical aspects of soil The porosity and voids of the soil stood out as the best indicators of soil physical degradation in the layer 0-20 cm deep. In relation to chemical indices, the soil under the cultivation of cane sugar had a significantly higher pH, K, Ca, Mg and sum of bases. The areas of forest showed higher levels of phosphorus, organic matter and CEC, indicating the importance of maintaining vegetation and replacement for the cycling of organic matter.