Abstract
The use of statistical techniques to evaluate soil attribute behaviour is an important tool for choosing the most adequate form of soil management. Thus, the aim of this study was to jointly assess the physical and chemical attributes and the magnetic susceptibility characteristics of three environments and to use multivariate statistics to define which attributes have the greatest potential as environmental change indicators. The study was conducted in three areas: one with archaeological black earth (and planted maize); one with pasture; and one of the forest. Sixty-four (64) deformed and non-deformed soil samples each were collected within these areas, with a 70 x 70 m grid spaced every 10 meters at depths of 0.0-0.2 and 0.4-0.6 m, to determine the chemical attributes (fertility), as well as the physical attributes (texture) and magnetic susceptibility. The data were analyzed through multivariate statistics. The archaeological dark earth areas have different behaviours between pastures and forests: chemical attributes have greater interaction in archaeological dark earth due to the high fertility of the anthropic horizons. The attributes that may indicate environmental changes are calcium, potential acidity and clay for archaeological dark earth, forest and pasture areas, respectively.
Highlights
Soil behaviour can be studied by assessing several factors, such as the nutrient levels, which correspond to soil fertility (Silva, Lima, Xavier, & Teixeira, 2010a), and physical attributes that represent the soil structure’s organization and the microorganisms that are responsible for mineralization processes and represent a potential nutrient supply source for plants.Acta Scientiarum
An alternative is the use of multivariate analysis, which is an important tool for the exploratory data analysis of soil because it allows the grouping of samples according to similarity while still enabling the selection of the most important variables to discriminate between
The soils were classified as Alitic Plinthic Red Argisols (Ultisols), except for the area with archaeological dark earth (ADE), which was rated as Dystrophic Abrupt Red-Yellow Argisol (Ultisol) (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária [Embrapa], 2013)
Summary
Soil behaviour can be studied by assessing several factors, such as the nutrient levels, which correspond to soil fertility (Silva, Lima, Xavier, & Teixeira, 2010a), and physical attributes that represent the soil structure’s organization and the microorganisms that are responsible for mineralization processes and represent a potential nutrient supply source for plants.Acta Scientiarum. Soil behaviour can be studied by assessing several factors, such as the nutrient levels, which correspond to soil fertility (Silva, Lima, Xavier, & Teixeira, 2010a), and physical attributes that represent the soil structure’s organization and the microorganisms that are responsible for mineralization processes and represent a potential nutrient supply source for plants. Current research has increasingly reported on the need to develop indicators of global impacts for land use and occupation (Rockström et al, 2009). Such studies are even more necessary for areas with high environmental sensitivity, such as those found in the landscape of the Amazonian deforestation arc located in Southern Amazonas State
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