Abstract The water retention curve is widely used in studies involving soil. The management systems directly influence soil structure by altering water retention dynamics. Several equations are used to adjust the retention of water in the soil, but most of the time, the choice of these models occurs in an arbitrary way. From this problem, it was proposed with the present study to relate the best mathematical model to water retention, taking into account the different management systems adopted, based on previously established adjustment criteria. For the accomplishment the study, a soil of caulinitic mineralogy and average texture was utilized. The treatments were area under native Cerrado (Savanna), eucalyptus plantation with six and twelve years of cultivation, pasture with two and six years of cultivation, conventional plantation with two and eight years of cultivation, no-till with three and six years of cultivation. From the adjustment criteria for non-linear models, it was found that the management influences the choice of the water retention model. It is possible to observe that the greatest divergences between the models occurred close to the soil saturation zone, and that the Fredlung-Xing model is more efficient in adjusting the water retention curve under conservationist management systems.

Abstract The Cerrado/Caatinga transition region in Piauí State has a high potential for production of food, fiber and energy, representing about 19% of the total area of the State. This work aimed to evaluate physical and hydraulic attributes under different crops in Latossolo Amarelo Distrófico (Oxisol) in cerrado/caatinga transition areas, in the Southwest of Piauí. In this study five areas with different crops were evaluated as follows: areas under pasture crop with Andropogon gayanus grass with three and six years of crop, area under intensive crop of Pennisetum purpureum grass, area under orchard of Annona squamosa L., area under intensive crop irrigated with central pivot and area under native vegetation of cerrado/caatinga ecotone representing a condition of equilibrium. Soil attributes evaluated were: soil density, total porosity, macroporosity, microporosity, unsaturated pores, blocked pores, saturation humidity, effective saturation, water readily available, void index, mechanical resistance of soil and saturated field hydraulic conductivity. The intensive crop of napier grass for five consecutive years and the pivot irrigated area under intensive crop for four years presented the greatest negative impacts on soil density, total porosity, macroporosity, saturation humidity, effective saturation, water readily available and index of voids.

Abstract Soil quality is essential for maintaining the sustainability of agro-ecosystems and ecosystem services provided by this natural resource. The present study aimed to assess the physical quality of soil through the characterization of the physical properties in grain production systems in the Southwest region of Piauí State, Brazil. The study was carried out in the Cerrado region of Piauí in four cities in areas of expansion of the agricultural frontier of the state: Baixa Grande do Ribeiro, Sebastião Leal, Uruçuí and Bom Jesus. Soil samples were collected in April 2012, in areas of grain production under conventional and no-tillage systems. Adjacent areas with native vegetation were also sampled as reference. Bulk density, effective saturation, hydraulic conductivity, penetration resistance, porosity and aggregation were measured. Regardless of the type of soil management used, agricultural systems degrade soil physical quality. No-tillage showed higher bulk density, penetration resistance and aggregation, with lower total porosity, macroporosity and hydraulic conductivity. The physical quality of soil in the agricultural areas of the Cerrado region of Piauí was dependent on the soil texture, while silt, clay and organic matter were determinant for soil aggregation, mechanical resistance, total porosity and microporosity.

O uso racional do solo tem sido objeto de estudo e discussões em função da busca de alternativas tecnológicas que possibilitem o manejo correto do solo e, consequentemente, uma agricultura sustentável. Objetivou-se, com este trabalho, levantar dados sobre a qualidade físico-hídrica e sua relação com os impactos gerados pelo manejo do solo por meio de uma revisão bibliográfica, contribuindo para melhor conhecimento das informações disponíveis na literatura. O uso de indicadores de qualidade física do solo permite designar práticas adequadas de manejo do solo. Uma análise crítica dos indicadores de qualidade física do solo revela que o índice proposto por Reynolds et al. (2002) possui limitações quanto ao uso, o intervalo hídrico ótimo apresenta bons resultados e o índice S necessita de mais trabalhos com o uso de h (tensão de água no solo) como variável independente. Assim, os indicadores de qualidade física do solo são úteis para avaliação do estado de conservação do solo possibilitando a gestão segura dos recursos naturais; todavia, os indicadores existentes apresentam, como inconvenientes, a elevada complexidade de execução e os custos de obtenção, o que configura oportunidade para o desenvolvimento de novos indicadores de qualidade física do solo.

The rational use of the soil has been the subject of study and discussion due to search for technological alternatives that allow the adequate management of the soil and consequently, a sustainable agriculture. The objective of this study was to collect data about the hydro-physical quality and its relation to the impacts caused by soil management through a literature review, contributing to better understanding of existing information in the literature. The use of indicators of physical quality of soil permit the designation of most appropriate soil management practices, especially those exposed to intensive agriculture. A critical analysis of indicators of soil quality show that the index proposed by Reynolds et al. (2002) has limitations about its use, the optimal hydric interval presents good results, and the S index needs more works with the use of h (soil-water suction) as the independent variable. Thus, the indicators of physical quality of soil are useful for evaluating the state of soil conservation, to making possible the secure management of natural resources, however, the existing indicators present very high complexity of the implementation and acquisition costs, which configures opportunity for the development of new indicators of physical quality of soil.

Objetivou-se, com este trabalho, avaliar o efeito de diferentes culturas de cobertura sobre os atributos químicos e a estabilidade de agregados de um Latossolo do cerrado, sob plantio direto. O estudo foi conduzido em área experimental na Embrapa Arroz e Feijão, em Santo Antônio de Goiás, GO. As culturas de cobertura avaliadas foram: braquiária, milho em consórcio com braquiária (integração lavoura-pecuária), guandu anão, milheto, capim mombaça, sorgo granífero, estilosantes e crotalária. As amostras foram coletadas em abril de 2005 e 2006. O delineamento experimental foi o de blocos completos ao acaso com quatro repetições e os tratamentos arranjados em esquema fatorial 8 x 2, sendo oito culturas de cobertura e duas profundidades de amostragem do solo: 0-0,10 e 0,10-0,20 m. As culturas de cobertura influenciam, de forma diferenciada, os valores de pH e os teores de cálcio, magnésio, alumínio, fósforo, potássio, cobre, zinco e ferro do solo. O tratamento estilosantes tem maior poder em acidificar o solo. A agregação do solo varia com as culturas de cobertura e com a profundidade.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different cover crops on chemical properties and aggregate stability in a cerrado Oxisol under no-tillage. The study was carried out in Embrapa Rice and Beans, in Santo Antônio de Goiás, GO, Brazil. The cover crops evaluated were: Urochloa brizantha, Urochloa brizantha and corn in association (crop-livestock integrated), Cajanus cajan, Pennisetum glaucum, Panicum maximum, Sorghum bicolor, Stylosanthes guianensis and Crotalaria juncea. The soil samples were collected in April and September 2005 and April 2006. The experimental design was in completely randomized blocks with four replications and treatments arranged in factorial scheme 8 x 2, eight cover crops and two soil sampling depths, 0-0.10 and 0.10-0.20 m. The different cover crops affect pH values and calcium, magnesium, aluminum, phosphorus, potassium, copper, zinc and iron contents of the soil. The Stylosanthes guianensis treatment caused more acidification. The soil aggregation varied with cover crops and depths.

As características das precipitações que mais interferem no processo de erosão do solo são a intensidade, a duração e a frequência da precipitação e a sua erosividade. Sendo o solo um recurso de renovação lenta e podendo ser rapidamente degradado pela ação da erosão, torna-se fundamental o conhecimento da forma como a precipitação atua no ambiente no qual esteja inserido. Desta forma se facilitam o desenvolvimento de técnicas e tecnologias e o estabelecimento de ações para diagnosticar, avaliar e apresentar soluções aos problemas, tanto econômica como ambientalmente. Diversos trabalhos, incluindo resultados de pesquisas e desenvolvimento de modelos, têm correlacionado as características das precipitações no sentido de entender, prever e apresentar soluções ao problema erosivo. Neste sentido se buscou compilar alguns desses trabalhos, de modo a apresentar o "estado da arte" no que se refere a chuvas intensas, manejo do solo e erosão hídrica.

The most important rainfall characteristics on erosion process are the relationship between intensity, duration and frequency of precipitation and its erosivity. As the soil is a slow renewal resource and can be quickly degraded by erosion, the knowledge about how the precipitation acts in the environment is fundamental. In this way, the development of techniques, technologies and the establishment of actions to diagnose, to evaluate and to present solutions to erosion problems is important both economically and environmentally. Many studies, including research results and development of models have correlated precipitations characteristics in order to understand, to predict and to present solutions for the erosion problem. In this sense, some of these studies were compiled with the purpose of presenting the "state of the art" with respect to precipitations, soil management and water erosion.

A ausência de equações de chuvas intensas para o Estado do Mato Grosso do Sul e a necessidade de maior segurança na elaboração de projetos e dimensionamento de obras hidráulicas, foram o alicerce para, com este estudo, se obtivessem e espacializassem as relações de intensidade, duração e frequência de precipitações para o Estado. Utilizou-se, então, da metodologia da desagregação da chuva de 24 h e se utilizaram dados pluviométricos consistidos de 109 estações disponíveis no banco de dados da Agência Nacional de Águas. As equações de chuvas intensas apresentaram bom ajuste, com coeficientes de determinação acima de 0,99 para todas as localidades estudadas. Os parâmetros ajustados apresentaram alta variabilidade resultando em grandes diferenças nos valores de precipitações intensas esperadas para as diferentes localidades. A espacialização permitiu boa visualização das diferenças evidenciando maiores intensidades esperadas na região centro-norte e as menores intensidades nas regiões sudeste e sudoeste do Estado. Os resultados demonstram a importância da obtenção da equação de intensidade-duração-frequência para cada localidade e sua utilização para a realização de estudos e projetos hidráulicos.

Rain intensity data are necessary to increase security of hydraulic projects. The objective of this study was to determine the rain storm equations and the spatial distribution of rain intensity for the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The equations were obtained by disaggregation of 24 h rain data from 109 pluviometric stations available in the National Water Agency (ANA) data bank. These equations resulted in coefficients of determination above 0,99 for all localities. The adjusted parameters showed high variability, resulting from different rain intensities in different places of the State. The interpolation of data allowed good visualization of the differences, evidencing higher intensities of rains in the central and northern regions and lower intensities in the southeastern and southwestern regions of the State. These results demonstrated the importance of intensity-duration-frequency relationship and its use for studies and hydraulic projects based on data from each place.

Visou-se, neste trabalho, avaliar as propriedades físico-hídricas do solo sob diferentes sistemas de manejo, em comparação com o Cerrado nativo, em Santo Antônio de Goiás, GO, em áreas cultivadas desde o ano de 1993. As propriedades físico-hídricas foram avaliadas nas profundidades de 0-0,10 e 0,10-0,20 m do solo submetido aos sistemas de manejo: S1 (soja/feijão/arroz/milheto/feijão), S2 (soja/milheto/milho), S3 (milho + pastagem de braquiária - integração-lavoura-pecuária) e S4 (cerrado nativo). Utilizou-se, para comparar os resultados obtidos nos diversos sistemas de manejo do solo, o intervalo de confiança com nível de probabilidade de 5%. A área com pastagem de braquiária sob pastejo animal promoveu compactação do solo na camada superficial, verificada pela redução da macroporosidade, aumento da microporosidade e da densidade do solo.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the physico-hydric soil properties under different management systems in comparison with the native Cerrado, in Santo Antônio de Goiás, Goiás State, in areas cultivated since 1993. The evaluated systems in the depths of 0 - 0.10 and 0.10 - 0.20 m were: system S1 (soybean/bean/rice/pearl millet /bean), system S2 (soybean/pearl millet/corn), system S3 (corn + Brachiaria brizantha in integrated crop-livestock system) and system S4 (native cerrado). To compare the results obtained in the several soil management systems, the interval of confidence was used, at a probability level of 5%. The use of area under Brachiaria brizantha pasture for animal grazing caused compaction of the soil in the surface layer, verified through the reduction of the macroporosity, and increase of the microporosity and soil bulk density.

A taxa de forrageamento pode interferir diretamente no impacto que Atta laevigata (Smith) exerce no ambiente. Os fatores que mais afetam a taxa de forrageamento foram avaliados utilizando-se dados de A. laevigata coletados por três meses no Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó, MG. Um padrão bimodal de forrageamento foi observado em dias ensolarados. Amostras do peso seco coletadas nas entradas dos ninhos foram em média maiores nos dia ensolarados (0.9713 ± 0.1358 g), quando comparado aos dias chuvosos (0.4485 ± 0.1120g). Ninhos grandes (0.9713 ± 0.1358 g) também possuíam maiores coletas de peso seco comparadas aos ninhos pequenos (0.2752 ± 0.0463 g). Indivíduos de A. laevigata trocam de entradas de ninhos para entradas com melhores condições microhabitacionais tanto em dias chuvosos como ensolarados. A combinação da temperatura, umidade, tamanho de ninho e especialização de microhabitats parecem ser os fatores reguladores mais importantes dos padrões de forrageamento de A. laevigata no Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó.

Foraging rate can directly affect the impact that Atta laevigata (Smith) has on the environment. We attempted to assess the factors which most affect foraging rate of A. laevigata using data collected over a three month period in the Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó in Minas Gerais, Brazil. A bimodal foraging pattern was observed on clear sunny days, based on collected dry weights of vegetative material being carried towards nest entrances. Sampled entrances on clear sunny days yielded a daily average dry weight twice as high (0.9713 ± 0.1358 g) as on rainy days (0.4485 ± 0.1120 g). Larger nests (0.9713 ± 0.1358 g) yielded higher dry weights than smaller nests (0.2752 ± 0.0463 g). Field observations showed Ants switched to nest entrances with more suitable microhabitat conditions in both rainy and sunny days. A combination of temperature, humidity, nest size, and microhabitat specialization were the most important factors influencing A. laevigata foraging pattern.