Physical attributes of a Yellow Oxisol under management systems in the cerrado of Piauí State, Brazil

Abstract

In the areas of cerrado within Piauí State, Brazil, Oxisol are the most representative soil units. For this reason they have been intensively incorporated to the productive agricultural process, however, the use of inadequate practices in agricultural activities with yearly cropping systems has been noted. The objective of this work was to verify the changes in some physical attributes and organic matter of a dystrophic Yellow Oxisol under some crop management systems: no-tillage (NT); conventional tillage (CT); recently-deforested area (RDA), compared to a native cerrado area (NC). Soil samples were collected in the Progresso Farm, located in Uruçuí, Piauí, in the layers of 0.00 – 0.05 m, 0.05 – 0.10 m, 0.10 – 0.20 m and 0.20 – 0.40 m of depths to determine the aggregate stability in water, density and organic matter content. The water infiltration rate in the agricultural systems was assessed using concentric rings. The analysis of variance was done in a completely randomized design, in 4x4 split plot array. The systems NT and CT provided the increase in the bulk density and reduction of organic matter, of the stability of aggregates and the water infiltration rate when compared with Native Cerrado and recently-deforested areas.