Soil-saprolite systems in southeast and northeast Brazil: morphological characteristics, geochemical-mineralogical evolution and environmental role

• Grant number: 13/03703-2
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: June 01, 2013
• End date: May 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Soil Science
• Principal Investigator: Antonio Carlos de Azevedo
• Grantee: Antonio Carlos de Azevedo
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The regolith is defined as the weathered material in between unweathered rock and atmosphere. The regolith is the medium of most of the land human activity and sustains the water and nutrient flux for terrestrial ecosystems. The regolith is further split into soil and saprolite. Soil is made of mineral and organic materials, water and gases, while saprolite is basically a mixture of primary and secondary minerals resulting from weathering front advancement, but still preserving at least some of the original rock structure. Is spite of such clear definitions, such boundaries are not easily devised in the field, leading to confusion in collecting and transmitting information, particularly among discipline borders. Saprolite is, by far, the less known of the elements of the soil-saprolite-rock system. Due to the need of a multidisciplinary approach to such subject, there is an urgency to a certain degree of standardization of vocabulary and methods to investigate and communicate about saprolites. The objective of this project is to characterize several soil-saprolite-rock systems developed under different lithologies and climates to better understand their mineralogical evolution, micromorphological characterization and also to adjust procedures and technical terms to deal with saprolite, and to further sustain a classification system for such materials. (AU)

Scientific publications

(7)

(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)

BARROS DOS SANTOS, JEAN CHEYSON; LE PERA, EMILIA; DE SOUZA JUNIOR, VALDOMIRO SEVERINO; DE OLIVEIRA, CYBELLE SOUZA; JUILLERET, JEROME; CORREA, MARCELO METRI; DE AZEVEDO, ANTONIO CARLOS. Porosity and genesis of clay in gneiss saprolites: The relevance of saprolithology to whole regolith pedology. Geoderma, v. 319, p. 1-13, JUN 1 2018. (12/12711-6, 13/03703-2)

BARROS DOS SANTOS, JEAN CHEYSON; LE PERA, EMILIA; DE SOUZA JUNIOR, VALDOMIRO SEVERINO; CORREA, MARCELO METRI; DE AZEVEDO, ANTONIO CARLOS. Gneiss saprolite weathering and soil genesis along an east-west regolith sequence (NE Brazil). CATENA, v. 150, p. 279-290, MAR 2017. (13/03703-2, 12/12711-6)

BARROS DOS SANTOS, JEAN CHEYSON; DE OLIVEIRA, CYBELLE SOUZA; LE PERA, EMILIA; SARTOR, LUCAS RESMINI; CORREA, MARCELO METRI; NASCIMENTO DA SILVA, ARTUR HENRIQUE; MULLER, CANDIDA REGINA; SANTOS, ROSECLENIA ALVES; DE AZEVEDO, ANTONIO CARLOS. Saprolithology applied to pedology: Integrated study of soil and saprolite derived from crystalline rocks to better understand properties of whole regoliths along a climate gradient (NE Brazil). Geoderma, v. 409, MAR 1 2022. (12/12711-6, 13/03703-2)

EDILENE PEREIRA FERREIRA; ADRIANO RIBEIRO GUERRA; ANTONIO CARLOS DE AZEVEDO. Rare earth elements in gneiss regoliths in southern Minas Gerais, Brazil. Scientia Agricola, v. 78, n. 3, 2020-05-18. (13/03703-2)

BARROS DOS SANTOS, JEAN CHEYSON; LE PERA, EMILIA; DE OLIVEIRA, CYBELLE SOUZA; DE SOUZA JUNIOR, VALDOMIRO SEVERINO; PEDRON, FABRICIO DE ARAUJO; CORREA, MARCELO METRI; DE AZEVEDO, ANTONIO CARLOS. Impact of weathering on REE distribution in soil-saprolite profiles developed on orthogneisses in Borborema Province, NE Brazil. Geoderma, v. 347, p. 103-117, AUG 1 2019. (13/03703-2, 12/12711-6)

DOS SANTOS, JEAN CHEYSON BARROS; DE OLIVEIRA, CYBELLE SOUZA; PERA, EMILIA LE; SARTOR, LUCAS RESMINI; CORREA, MARCELO METRI; DA SILVA, ARTUR HENRIQUE NASCIMENTO; SANTOS, ROSECLEINA ALVES; DA SILVA, LUIS FERNANDO VIEIRA; MUELLER, CANDIDA REGINA; DE AZEVEDO, ANTONIO CARLOS. Saprolithology applied to pedology: Mineral alteration in soil-saprolite profiles along a climate gradient in Triunfo Massif (NE Brazil). CATENA, v. 213, p. 15-pg., 2022-06-01. (13/03703-2, 12/12711-6)

FERREIRA, EDILENE PEREIRA; GUERRA, ADRIANO RIBEIRO; DE AZEVEDO, ANTONIO CARLOS. Rare earth elements in gneiss regoliths in southern Minas Gerais, Brazil. CIENTIA AGRICOL, v. 78, n. 3, p. 11-pg., 2021-01-01. (13/03703-2)