Granulometry and Stability of Aggregates in Different Land Uses in the Santa Catarina Plateau of Southern, Brazil
Kristiana Fiorentin dos Santos *
Department of Forest Engineering, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Fabrício Tondello Barbosa
Department of Soil, State University of Ponta Grossa, Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil.
Ildegardis Bertol
Department of Soil, University of the State of Santa Catarina, Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
Romeu de Souza Werner
Department of Soil, University of the State of Santa Catarina, Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
Neuro Hilton Wolschick
Department of Soil, University of the State of Santa Catarina, Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
Luran Monteiro Museka
Department of Soil, University of the State of Santa Catarina, Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The aim of the present work was to determine the granulometry and stability of aggregates in different types of land use in the Santa Catarina Plateau of southern, Brazil. The research was conducted on Capão Alto, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The land use types selected were natural forest (NF), stands pine (SP), crop-livestock integration (CLI), and burned natural rangeland (BR). The definition of the collection points in the field was performed by means of a random sample survey, with nine sampling points by type of use. The stability of aggregates in water, expressed by the mean geometric diameter of aggregates (MGD), was performed after separation of the larger aggregates in smaller aggregates by a set of sieves with 8 and 4.76 mm. Subsequently, these aggregates were fractionated by means of a set of sieves of 4.76; 2.00; 1.00; and 0.25 mm by means of shaking submerged in water. The levels of sand, silt and clay presented differences between the types of land use. MGD ranges from 4.43 to 5.70 mm in NF; from 4.06 to 5.81 mm in SP; from 3.00 to 5,45 mm in CLI; e 4.35 to 5.57 mm in BR. In general, the results showed that MGD varied little in the different types of use, and in all treatments there was a trend of decreasing soil MGD with increasing depth.
Keywords: Soil quality, forest, pine, crop-livestock integration, burned natural rangeland