Index of soil quality in agroecological and conventional farming in potiguar semiarid, Brazil

Index of soil quality in agroecological and conventional farming in potiguar semiarid, Brazil

Fábio dos Santos Santiago, Suzana Maria Gico Lima Montenegro, Maria Rafaela de Almeida Pinheiro

The inadequate use and management in cropping systems in the semiarid region may decline the soil's ability to sustain the production. The objective of this work was to determine the soil quality index (SQI) in agroecological and conventional irrigated agricultural experimental units (AEU), located in the community of Sombras Grandes, Caraúbas, Rio Grande do Norte. Simple soil samples (0-20cm) were collected from 2009 to 2012. To determine the SQI, it was used 11 quality indicators associated to the soil functions in maintain the productivity capacity over time: bulk density (Bd), total porosity (TP), penetration resistance (PR), water availability in soil (AWS/TP), moisture retention at -33 kPa (MR/TP), pH, phosphorus assimilable (P), cation exchange capacity (CEC), base saturation (V), soil organic matter (SOM), clay dispersed in water (CDW) and flocculation degree (FD). The SQI in agroecological and conventional irrigated AEU were classified as good (0.80) and bad (0.45), respectively. In conventional AEU there is need for agricultural practices, like injection of organic waste, that improve the FD because it was the indicator that most contributed to reduce the SQI. The SQI reflected the integrated performance of the chemical and physical properties, which can be used in making decisions about the soil use and management.

2018

Agricultura Familiar, Indicadores físicos, Indicadores químicos, agroecologia

10.18378/rvads.v13i1.5333

Revista Verde de Agroecologia e Desenvolvimento Sustentável

Grupo Verde de Agroecologia e Abelhas (GVAA)

Agriculture (General), Geography. Anthropology. Recreation, Environmental sciences