Sugarcane expansion in Brazilian tropical soils-Effects of land use change on soil chemical attributes

Autor(es)

Cherubin, Mauricio Roberto ^[1] ; Custodio Franco, Andre Luiz ^[1] ; Pellegrino Cerri, Carlos Eduardo ^[1] ; da Silva Oliveira, Dener Marcio ^[1] ; Davies, Christian Andrew ^[2] ; Cerri, Carlos Clemente ^[3]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Soil Sci, Luiz de Queiroz Coll Agr, BR-13418900 Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

^[2] Shell Technol Ctr Houston, Houston, TX 77082 - USA

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Ctr Nucl Energy Agr, BR-13400970 Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT; v. 211, p. 173-184, DEC 15 2015.
• Citações Web of Science: 23

Resumo

Land use change (LUC) in Brazil for sugarcane ethanol production has raised concerns about its potential environmental impacts. Soil quality is a key indicator to infer about the environmental sustainability of Brazilian ethanol production. Our objective was to quantify the effects of the most common LUC sequence associated with sugarcane expansion (i.e., native vegetation to pasture to sugarcane) on chemical attributes in tropical soils. Soil sampling was carried out in three study sites located in central-southern Brazil, primary sugarcane region of production and expansion of the world. Overall, long-term conversions from natural ecosystems to extensive pasturelands decreases available P, S, Ca, Mg and B contents. In addition, the LUC leads to soil acidification and decreases of CECpH7, indicating that pasturelands have poor soil chemical quality. The LUC from pasture to sugarcane increases soil nutrient levels and reduces the soil acidity due to inputs of lime and fertilizers. Despite that, increments of available P and base saturation are necessary to achieve ideal soil chemical conditions to sugarcane growth. Overall, our findings suggest that sugarcane expansion in Brazil replacing pasturelands will promotes improvements on soil chemical quality. Nevertheless, sugarcane expansion can be associated with management strategies to increase soil organic matter and improve the soil fertility, reducing the environmental and economic costs associated with ethanol production in Brazil. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 12/22510-8 - Macroinvertebrados e os processos de engenharia do solo: controles sobre a estocagem de matéria orgânica do solo em áreas com mudanças no uso da terra
• Beneficiário: Andre Luiz Custodio Franco
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 14/16612-8 - Resposta de indicadores de qualidade do solo a mudança de uso da terra
• Beneficiário: Maurício Roberto Cherubin
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Exterior - Estágio de Pesquisa - Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 13/17581-6 - QUALIDADE DO SOLO EM ÁREAS DE MUDANÇA DE USO DA TERRA PARA CULTIVO DA CANA-DE-AÇÚCAR NO CENTRO-SUL DO BRASIL - bases para avaliação da sustentabilidade ambiental do etanol
• Beneficiário: Maurício Roberto Cherubin
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado