Evaluation of soil structure focusing soil micromorphology and microbiology in two management systems

• Grant number: 06/07072-3
• Support type: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: April 01, 2007 - March 31, 2009
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agricultural Engineering - Soil and Water Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Zigomar Menezes de Souza
• Grantee: Zigomar Menezes de Souza
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Agrícola (FEAGRI). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Agricultural practices have the potential to change some soil physical attributes such as porosity, bulk density, resistance to penetration, water storage capacity and water movement. These changes have important implications on the sustainability of agricultural systems and monitoring these changes is important for the delineation of sustainable agricultural practices. For this reason, the aim of this project is to study the effect of tillage and no-tillage agricultural systems on soil structure, focusing on pore distribution and soil biology. These two systems will be compared in field experiments with randomized blocks, which will be carried out in the Experimental Field of the FEAGRI/UNICAMP, in Typic Haplorthox. Soil physical attributes will be characterized before the installation of the experiment and after the harvest of the main culture (summer), in two production seasons. Soil moisture, basic infiltration, saturated hydraulic conductivity and soil penetration resistance will be determined under field conditions; total porosity, macroporosity, microporosity and the soil-moisture retention curve will be determined with undisturbed core samples in the laboratory. Soil porosity will be evaluated by micromorphological analysis, quantifying modifications in soil porosity and the form and orientation of pores. Soil microbiological analyses, such as microbial biomass, microbial activity for respiration and nitrogen e carbon of microbial biomass, will be performed in order to establish a relationship between biological activity and maintenance of the soil structure. Mineralogy and soil fertility analyses will also be performed in order to complement the characterization the studied areas. The data will be analyzed with parametric statistics, such as the analysis of variance and Tukey’s test, and multivariate statistics, such as cluster and principal components analyses. Management implications for soil sustainability will be discussed. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

LORENA ADRIANA DE GENNARO; ZIGOMAR MENEZES DE SOUZA; LAURA FERNANDA SIMÕES DA SILVA; MIGUEL COOPER; MILTON CÉSAR COSTA CAMPOS. ESTRUTURA DO SOLO SOB FEIJÃO IRRIGADO E DIFERENTES MANEJO DO SOLO. Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo, v. 39, n. 2, p. 608-614, Abr. 2015.