ABSTRACT
Conversion of a natural condition to agricultural use can impose changes in soil properties and processes and bring environmental consequences to the region this agricultural use encompasses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physical quality of the soil in agricultural areas of municipalities around Sobradinho Lake, a semiarid region in the State of Bahia, using multivariate analysis statistical techniques as a tool. Initially, descriptive statistical analysis and correlation analysis techniques and the normality test were applied, which served as prerequisites for performing factor analysis and estimation of factor scores. Based on that, we determined the soil physical quality index for soil depths of 0.00-0.10, 0.10-0.20, and 0.20-0.40 m, the main objective being to classify soils as good, fair, and poor, according to the performance of their physical properties. Discriminant analysis was then carried out with the objective of validating the results obtained from the indices constructed with the results of factor analysis, as well as determining the physical soil properties that influence and are associated with soil quality in the agricultural areas of the region. Soil bulk density (Ds), macroporosity (Ma), and microporosity (Mi) were the properties that stood out as quality indicators, because they showed greater relative weight in the discrimination models of the sites sampled: Ds, Ma, and Mi in the 0.00-0.10 and 0.10-0.20 m layers, and Mi and Ds in the 0.20-0.40 m layer, suggesting that under the conditions studied, these variables are primarily responsible for the physical quality of the soil. Overall, the physical quality of the soil is not considered ideal, which may be attributed to the management practices adopted and, especially, to low levels of organic matter and the extremely sandy texture of the soil, rendering fragility to soils of the region.
factor analysis; quality indicator; physical properties; sandy soils