The Brazilian Atlantic coast have has extreme environmental diversity, where is expressive the occurrence of Argisols, described and identified in several studies, that do not have exhausted the possibilities of interpretations. The objective of this study was to evaluate the main differences in the physical and chemical properties of Argisols of the Brazilian Atlantic coast by multivariate analysis, allowing inferences on their genesis and fertility. For this purpose, 91 soil profiles from the soil survey reports of the Project RADAMBRASIL were analyzed, and grouped into three distinct geomorphologic domains: Lower dissected plateaus - PR, High dissected plateaus - PS and Coastal tablelands - TC. These profiles were analyzed by principal components and discriminate functions. Fourteen variables were selected to identify peculiarities of each geomorphologic group and the main differences. The principal component analysis showed that the first five components account for approximately 70 % of the data variation. The integrated analysis indicated that the Argisols of the high dissected plateaus are generally shallower and that the highest erosion rates are associated with the thinnest Bt horizons. But although younger and flatter, they are chemically poor. On the other hand, the Argisols in the lower dissected plateaus, in drier and/or more seasonal climates, are less weathered and have a higher CEC. The analyses (principal component and discriminate function analysis) allowed a better understanding of the pedogeomorphological relations of the Argisols in the different domains studied.
geomorphologic domains; multivariate analysis; principal components
