PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF A SOIL UNDER DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS OF THE BUSH IN THE NORTHEAST OF THE STATE OF PARÁ, BRAZIL

Abstract

ABSTRACT: A new model of production technology - based staging area without the use of fire is being developed in the Northeast of the State of Pará, Brazil, as alternative to the traditional preparation of slash and burn. Based in the trituration of the bush, this model could contribute to the improved of productive characteristics in the soil by maintance the cover in the soil. The objective of this study was to verify the effect of differents forms of management of the bush (slash and burn e slash and trituration) in improvement of physical properties of a soil passage of time. A pesquisa foi realizada no Municipality of Igarapé-Açu, Pará, under a Entisol Typic. Three forms of land preparation was evaluated: 1- slash and burn of vegetation in fallow; 2- slush and trituration of vegetation in fallow to be used as vegetative cover of the soil; and, 3- slash, trituration and incorporation of vegetation to the soil, with and without NPK , and a natural bushy area  as the control plot. The experimental design was random blocks, with three repetitions. The collections of soil for analysis of soil texture, soil bulk density, soil porosity and water availability was made in the upper 0-10, 10-20, 20-30 and 30-50 cm of the soil, in plots of 10.0 m x 12.0 m in each treatment, and was analyzed according to Embrapa’s methodology (1997). The analytical result averages were compared to Tukey test at 5%. The results indicate that the system based on slash and trituration of the bush and the use of mineral fertilization presents greater potential for maintenance of the physical quality of the soil in relation to burning the secondary vegetation over time, and that the water availability to plants in the soil under trituration of the bush is greater than in the soil under slash and burn the secondary vegetation in the layers closer to the soil surface.   Keywords: family agriculture, soil management, trituration of the bush.