The widespread occurrence of Cambisols (shallow, dense and silty) and of clayey and very clayey Latosols is typical of pelitic rocks of the pre-Cambrian Bambui Group landscape, but few studies are focused on the genesis and agricultural potential of these soils. Two areas were selected in Curvelo, state of Minas Gerais, for a detailed study of physical, chemical and mineralogical properties of these soils, to deepen the understanding of the pedogenesis of this area. Soils classified as Haplic Cambisols (Inceptisols), Red-Yellow latosol (Xanthic Haplustox) and Red latosol (Rhodic Haplustox) were selected and sampled, and analyzed for the chemical, mineralogical and physical properties. The XRD data coupled with the calculated weathering index indicated a lower degree of weathering in the shallow Cambisols, with higher proportion of illite and kaolinite in the clay fraction, in comparison to the Latosols, where kaolinite, gibbsite and hydroxy-interlayered vermiculite (HIV) coexist. In this case, the occurrence of gibbsite is not a good indicator of severe weathering. In the shallow Cambisols, higher silt content combined with a face-to-face arrangement of clay particles (kaolinite/illite) may have resulted in poor structural organization, denseness, low water infiltration and soil sealing. In the clay fraction of Latosols, we observed the coexistence of kaolinite/illite and Fe/Al oxides, similarly to the Cambisols, but with much less illite and higher gibbsite contents, as inferred from the results of Ki of around 1.4. Although there are no remarkable physical and chemical differences among Latosols, the Rhodic Latosols displayed considerable magnetization in the sand fraction, where XRD confirmed the presence of magnetite, an uncommon fact in the supposedly magnetite-free pelitic lithologies of the Bambuí Group, but reported in previous studies as well.
kaolinite; illite; density; magnetite
