Evaluation of soil conditions in fast-growing plantations of Eucalyptus grandis and Acacia mangium in Brazil: a contribution to the study of sustainable land use

• Published in: Applied soil ecology : a section of Agriculture, ecosystems & environment Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. 177 - 187
• Main Authors: Garay, Irene, Pellens, Roseli, Kindel, Andreia, Barros, Eleusa, Franco, Avı́lio A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.10.2004; Elsevier
• Subjects: Acacia mangium; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biological and medical sciences; carbon nitrogen ratio; Chemical, physicochemical, biochemical and biological properties; Eucalyptus grandis; F horizons; forest litter; forest plantations; forest soils; forest trees; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; hemiorganic horizons; holorganic horizons; L horizons; land restoration; land use; Physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology of agricultural and forest soils; Reclamation; soil aggregates; soil chemistry; Soil fertility; soil horizons; soil nutrients; soil organic matter; Soil science; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments; Standing litter; Tree plantations; Brazil; South America; America; Tree plantations; Standing litter; Soil fertility; Reclamation; Ecology; Acacia mangium; Sustainable use; Land use; Soils; Eucalyptus grandis; Leguminosae; Artificial forest stand; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Myrtaceae; Spermatophyta; Soil science
• ISSN: 0929-1393; 1873-0272
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsoil.2004.03.007

This study is a comparison of the holorganic horizons (L and F) and hemiorganic horizons (A 11 and A 12) of 7-years-old stands of Eucalyptus grandis and Acacia mangium, in the region of the Tabuleiro Forest, in Linhares, Espı́rito Santo, Brazil. In the soil under A. mangium, the stocks of organic matter in the L and F horizons were higher, and the C/N ratio was lower, due to the high nitrogen content of the leaf material. The same was observed for the A horizon chemical properties: the C and nutrients concentrations of the soil fine fraction were higher under A. mangium. The comparison of the C and nutrient concentrations between the A 11 and A 12 horizons and between the aggregate fraction and fine fraction showed similar trends in both sites. In both plantations, the C and nutrient concentrations were higher in A 11 than in A 12 horizons, and the soil aggregate fraction had higher concentration of nutrients than the soil fine fraction. Nevertheless, the percentage of aggregates in the soil matrix was much higher in A. mangium than in E. grandis. These results show that in this superficially sandy soil (Argissolo Amarelo Distrófico - Ultisol), the organic matter is the most important way of keeping nutrients, and that the aggregate fraction can be the most effective way of avoiding nutrient loss to the deeper soil horizons. In this context, A. mangium provides better conditions for restoring the soil fertility and soil biodiversity, thus providing better sustainability of the cropping systems than E. grandis.