The natural behavior of a set of soils that becomes hard, very hard or extremely hard when dry and friable when wet is being studied in many parts of the world. In Brazil, soils with this behavior are known as "cohesive soil" or "soil with cohesive horizon". Objective of this study was to evaluate the behavior of soils with a cohesive horizon in Coastal Tableland areas of Ceara State by means of the following physical parameters: tensile strength (RT), penetration resistance of the soil (RP), bulk density (Ds) and soil porosity (PT). The study was carried out in Pacajus, state of Ceara, Brazil, on a Gray Cohesive Argisol. Results showed that the cohesive soils in Ceara had the same physical restrictions identified in cohesive soils in other Brazilian states, confirming the hypothesis tested.
cohesive horizons; Coastal Tablelands in Ceara State; tensile strength; resistance penetration
