Physical attributes under different land use systems in the south of Espírito Santo

Abstract

The sustainable land use has been made increasingly relevant in the face of increasing anthropogenic activities. In order to evaluate changes in soil density and porosity of an Oxisol medium texture with 55% sand and 23% clay with particle density around 2.69 Mg m-3, area under forest (semideciduous forest), pasture (Brachiaria decumbens with rotation cattle) and cultivated with coffee (Coffea canephora) in Alegre, ES, soil samples were taken at two depths (0.0 a 0.2 m 0.2 to 0.4 m). The results revealed that the interaction between the different vegetation cover and depth was not significant for any attribute of the soil evaluated, ie, the factors studied acting independently. The canopy significantly influenced the values of soil bulk density and porosity. The native forest presented by the parameters studied, the best quality of soil, followed by coffee and pasture.