Evaluation systems of agricultural land suitability are being used in different regions of Brazil, by distinct teams and with multiple applications. The objective of this study was to evaluate, for soils in the State of Acre, how different experts evaluate the relative importance of indicators of a land suitability system, and how they interpret properties that can define land suitability classes. Ten soil profiles analyzed for the IX Brazilian Soil Classification and Correlation Workshop were used. These soil profiles are located between Rio Branco and Cruzeiro do Sul, municipalities in the Amazon region, with sediments of the Solimões Formation as soil parent material. The land suitability was interpreted by six experts, based on all land suitability indicators, applied in five degrees of limitation for the factors: fertility deficiency, water deficiency, oxygen deficiency, erosion susceptibility, and impediments to mechanization. From these assessments, the groups and classes of land suitability of each soil profile were established, and the results compared by discriminant analysis. The results indicated the variables nutrient stock, clay content, textural class, drainage class and local relief as the most important to discriminate the environments by the experts. The interpretation of land suitability by the experts was not entirely reproducible for all soils, and was subjected to the diverse experience and knowledge of the evaluators about the environment and different land use types.
Amazon; land evaluation; Solimões Formation; land use
