Well-drained Oxisols are named Latossolos in the Brazilian Soil Classification System. These soils cover extensive areas in Brazil and are essential to food production and environmental quality maintenance. Both roles rely on the existence of stable, small aggregates. Although several studies have been published about it, there is no agreement on the factors and mechanisms involved in the genesis and stability of such aggregates. The reasoning used to explain such mechanisms in other soils cannot be used in Latossolos without difficulty because they do not have aggregate hierarchy. The main goal of this review is to gather information about mineralogical characteristics of pedogenic minerals and their association with organic colloids and relate it to aggregation and dispersion of Latossolos.
tropical soils; soil mineralogy; soil physico-chemistry; soil degradation
