Avaliação de parâmetros físico-químicos do solo sob influência de dois tipos de serrapilheira

Abstract

The soil is an integral part of the earth's biosphere. On top of the soil is litter, made up of all the plant material produced by plants, whose main function is to supply the soil with nutrients. However, there are other parameters that influence the soil and should be assessed, such as pH and humidity. In this context, the following work sought to assess the influence of the litter produced in different areas of vegetation cover on different physical and chemical parameters of the soil. To this end, the Lagoa do Sino campus of the Federal University of São Carlos was chosen as the study area, where three sample areas were delimited within its boundaries: one in an agroforestry system (SAF), one in a remnant of native forest (FLO) and one of soil without defined use (SE). In order to assess the influence of leaf litter, we first sought to characterise it in terms of its productivity and moisture retention over a 10-month period, between January 2023 and October 2023, using rectangular collectors spaced in the sampling areas. At the same time, soil moisture was assessed at different depths during the same period. Subsequently, in single laboratory activities, different chemical parameters were evaluated, including organic matter (OM), hydrogen potential (pH), cation exchange capacity (CEC), specific surface area (SE) and electrical conductivity (EC). From the results generated, it was possible to see a positive relationship between litter and soil moisture, where the sample area with the highest litter productivity had a greater capacity to retain moisture over the period assessed. The native forest remnant fragment showed great potential for litter productivity, especially in months with high rainfall (February and October), while the agroforestry system fragment showed low plant material production power due to its heterogeneous forest composition. As for the chemical parameters, due to the presence of Eucalyptus trees in the remnant native forest fragment, it was possible to see a decrease in the pH of the litter when compared to the SAF sample area and an increase in the specific surface area and cation exchange capacity, demonstrating greater capacity in the native area fragment to reduce erosion processes.