Chemical and biological indicators of soil quality in cultivation areas of the Cerrado

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate the interference of the management adopted in Cerrado cultivation areas on the chemical and biological soil attributes. Four soil management systems were studied (MC, NT3+SM, NT6+MB, and NT6+SMB), with different years of adoption and cover crops, and one area of native vegetation (NV). In each soil management system and in the NV, soil samples were collected at the depths of 0.0-0.05m, 0.05-0.10m, and 0.10-0.20m, 5 replications. The effects of the treatments on the response variables were evaluated by ANOVA, and the means were compared by the Scott-Knott test at 5% of significance. Soil management with crop rotation and succession improved soil fertility since all chemical elements studied presented higher values when compared to the NV. The soil contents of organic carbon, macronutrients, microbial biomass carbon (Cmic), and soil basal respiration (SBR) were generally higher on the surface, with the lowest contents of Cmic being observed for the NT6+MB, and the NV presenting high SBR in all studied depths. The metabolic quotient was higher in depth. In general, our results revealed that the use of no-tillage systems, besides providing soil cover, also increases and maintains the chemical and biological attributes, respectively, thus improving soil quality.