SOIL PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES IN A CHRONOSEQUENCE OF LAND USE AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN THE CERRADO

• Grant number: 25/06728-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: May 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Soil Science
• Principal Investigator: Bárbara Pereira Christofaro Silva
• Grantee: Leonardo Yukio Hosoda
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia (FEIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Ilha Solteira. Ilha Solteira , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Soil physical attributes play a fundamental role in the capacity and quality of ecosystem service provision. Land use changes impact the soil physical attributes and its ability to provide environmental services. These impacts can be either positive or negative, depending on the land use and soil management system. The aim of this proposal is to evaluate the soil physical attributes under different land use and management systems: a) Cultivation system with conventional tillage for 24 years, b) No-tillage system (NTS) managed for 24 years, c) NTS managed for 21 years, d) NTS managed for 11 years, e) NTS managed for 2 years, f) Silvopastoral system (Aroeira and Brachiaria intercropping) with 37 years of establishment, and g) Cerrado stricto-sensu. Both disturbed and undisturbed soil samples will be collected from each system at depths of 0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, and 40-60 cm, with five replicates per depth. The samples will be analyzed for texture, bulk density (BD), macroporosity, microporosity, and total porosity. Soil penetration resistance (PR) will be measured at different seasons in order to account for variations in soil moisture (SM) conditions, aiming to identify an ideal moisture range for diagnosing and monitoring soil compaction. For comparison between treatments, at each depth, soil attributes will be subjected to principal component analysis, with each replicate considered an individual and its corresponding treatment as a supplementary categorical variable. To study the behavior of the soil penetration resistance curve as a function of variations in SM and BD, the RP data will be adjusted using the nonlinear model proposed by Busscher (1990). (AU)