Soil quality indicator response to land use change

• Grant number: 14/16612-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): March 02, 2015
• Effective date (End): February 01, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Soil Science
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Clemente Cerri
• Grantee: Maurício Roberto Cherubin
• Supervisor: Douglas Lawrence Karlen
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Research place: National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 13/17581-6 - SOIL QUALITY IN AREAS OF LAND USE CHANGE FOR SUGARCANE CULTIVATION IN SOUTH-CENTER OF BRAZIL - data for the evaluation of environmental sustainability of ethanol, BP.DR

Abstract

The environmental impacts of land use change (LUC) caused by conversion of native vegetation and pasturelands to sugarcane have generated numerous questions regarding the environmental sustainability of Brazilian ethanol production. In response, soil quality (SQ) has been identified as a key indicator to quantify those impacts. The primary objective for this research internship abroad, which is linked with research project (Process FAPESP n° 2013/17581-6), is to develop an appropriate SQ assessment protocol for quantifying LUC effects associated with sugarcane ethanol production in Brazil. My specific objectives are to: (1) develop a complete understanding of the Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) that has been developed for SQ assessment in the USA and used elsewhere around the world; (2) select soil quality indicators and define their baseline and threshold values for use in the SMAF; (3) quantify SQ in areas of Brazil experiencing LUC due to sugarcane production using the SMAF and multivariate statistical procedures; and (4) define an economically viable and socially acceptable protocol for SQ assessment that could be adopted by the Brazilian sugarcane industry. Soil sampling and analytical analyses have been completed, the data has been analyzed using univariate statistical procedures, and the papers have been written about LUC impacts on selected soil attributes. During the internship at the USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment (NLAE), the data will be further analyzed and used with the SMAF to score the various soil quality indicators (attributes) and develop an overall soil quality index (SQI). Understanding the SMAF and carrying out this activity is essential for determining the viability of using an integrated assessment of SQ to evaluate the impact of sugarcane expansion under pasturelands in Brazil. We expect that results generated during the research internship will contribute to assessments of environmental sustainability and suggest strategies for mitigating environmental impacts caused by the expansion of the Brazilian sugarcane industry. (AU)

Scientific publications

(11)

(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)

CHERUBIN, MAURICIO R.; KARLEN, DOUGLAS L.; FRANCO, ANDRE L. C.; TORMENA, CASSIO A.; CERRI, CARLOS E. P.; DAVIES, CHRISTIAN A.; CERRI, CARLOS C.. Soil physical quality response to sugarcane expansion in Brazil. Geoderma, v. 267, p. 156-168, APR 1 2016. (12/22510-8, 14/16612-8, 13/17581-6)

CHERUBIN, MAURICIO R.; FRANCO, ANDRE L. C.; GUIMARAES, RACHEL M. L.; TORMENA, CASSIO A.; CERRI, CARLOS E. P.; KARLEN, DOUGLAS L.; CERRI, CARLOS C.. Assessing soil structural quality under Brazilian sugarcane expansion areas using Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS). SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH, v. 173, n. SI, p. 64-74, NOV 2017. (12/22510-8, 14/16612-8, 13/17581-6)

TORMENA, CASSIO A.; KARLEN, DOUGLAS L.; LOGSDON, SALLY; CHERUBIN, MAURICIO R.. Corn stover harvest and tillage impacts on near-surface soil physical quality. SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH, v. 166, p. 122-130, MAR 2017. (14/16612-8, 13/17581-6)

CHERUBIN, MAURICIO R.; KARLEN, DOUGLAS L.; CERRI, CARLOS E. P.; FRANCO, ANDRE L. C.; TORMENA, CASSIO A.; DAVIES, CHRISTIAN A.; CERRI, CARLOS C.. Soil Quality Indexing Strategies for Evaluating Sugarcane Expansion in Brazil. PLoS One, v. 11, n. 3, MAR 3 2016. (12/22510-8, 14/16612-8, 13/17581-6)

CHERUBIN, MAURICIO R.; KARLEN, DOUGLAS L.; FRANCO, ANDRE L. C.; CERRI, CARLOS E. P.; TORMENA, CASSIO A.; CERRI, CARLOS C.. A Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) Evaluation of Brazilian Sugarcane Expansion on Soil Quality. Soil Science Society of America Journal, v. 80, n. 1, p. 215-226, JAN-FEB 2016. (12/22510-8, 14/16612-8, 13/17581-6)

CHERUBIN, MAURICIO R.; FRANCO, ANDRE L. C.; GUIMARAES, RACHEL M. L.; TORMENA, CASSIO A.; CERRI, CARLOS E. P.; KARLEN, DOUGLAS L.; CERRI, CARLOS C.. Assessing soil structural quality under Brazilian sugarcane expansion areas using Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS). SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH, v. 173, p. 11-pg., 2017-11-01. (13/17581-6, 14/16612-8, 12/22510-8)

CHERUBIN, MAURICIO ROBERTO; CUSTODIO FRANCO, ANDRE LUIZ; PELLEGRINO CERRI, CARLOS EDUARDO; DA SILVA OLIVEIRA, DENER MARCIO; DAVIES, CHRISTIAN ANDREW; CERRI, CARLOS CLEMENTE. Sugarcane expansion in Brazilian tropical soils-Effects of land use change on soil chemical attributes. AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT, v. 211, p. 173-184, DEC 15 2015. (12/22510-8, 14/16612-8, 13/17581-6)

CHERUBIN, MAURICIO R.; FRANCO, ANDRE L. C.; CERRI, CARLOS E. P.; KARLEN, DOUGLAS L.; PAVINATO, PAULO S.; RODRIGUES, MARCOS; DAVIES, CHRISTIAN A.; CERRI, CARLOS C.. Phosphorus pools responses to land-use change for sugarcane expansion in weathered Brazilian soils. Geoderma, v. 265, p. 27-38, MAR 1 2016. (12/22510-8, 14/16612-8, 13/17581-6)

DA SILVA OLIVEIRA, DENER MARCIO; PAUSTIAN, KEITH; DAVIES, CHRISTIAN ANDREW; CHERUBIN, MAURICIO ROBERTO; FRANCO, ANDRE LUIZ CUSTODIO; CERRI, CARLOS CLEMENTE; PELLEGRINO CERRI, CARLOS EDUARDO. Soil carbon changes in areas undergoing expansion of sugarcane into pastures in south-central Brazil. AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT, v. 228, p. 38-48, JUL 15 2016. (15/14122-6, 14/08632-9, 13/17581-6, 14/16612-8)

TORMENA, CASSIO A.; KARLEN, DOUGLAS L.; LOGSDON, SALLY; CHERUBIN, MAURICIO R.. Visual Soil Structure Effects of Tillage and Corn Stover Harvest in Iowa. Soil Science Society of America Journal, v. 80, n. 3, p. 720-726, MAY-JUN 2016. (14/16612-8, 13/17581-6)

OLIVEIRA, DENER M. S.; CHERUBIN, MAURICIO R.; FRANCO, ANDRE L. C.; SANTOS, AUGUSTO S.; GELAIN, JAQUELINI G.; DIAS, NAISSA M. S.; DINIZ, TATIANA R.; ALMEIDA, ALEXANDRE N.; FEIGL, BRIGITTE J.; DAVIES, CHRISTIAN A.; et al. Is the expansion of sugarcane over pasturelands a sustainable strategy for Brazil's bioenergy industry?. RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS, v. 102, p. 346-355, MAR 2019. (15/14122-6, 13/17581-6, 14/08632-9, 14/16612-8, 18/09845-7)