The current research was carried out in Itapé and Itaju do Colônia, towns located in the South coast of Bahia state. The objective of this study was to characterize the pasture environment emphasizing the soils and their natural cover in order to measure and evaluate the pasture degradation. These areas are basically formed by Mollisols where forest and cacao crops cultivated in "Cabruca" were replaced by pastures (Panicum maximum, cv. Colonião and Sempre Verde). Those pastures have been cultivated for many years now, in systems characterized by well or badly managed. In order to analyse the vegetative soil cover, samples were collected in rows and in collective points which were monitored by the chemical and physical soil characteristics. The samples were collected in trenches on the top, middle and bottom segments of slopes with similar conformation. The data showed that as the environment changed, it led to a chemical and physical soil alteration, such as reductions in levels of sum of basis, cation exchange capacity and base saturation, as well as in total organic carbon levels, and increasing of the bulk density and consequently reduction in total porosity mainly in the first layers of horizon A due to the demand of converting process of forest into pastures. The samples collected in rows and points were considered efficient once they provided subsidies to evaluate the degradation rate, showing that throughout the years an inadequate pasture management suffers changes such as: grass succession, increase of incidence of spontaneous species, uncovered soil, among others. Therefore, it reveals the non-sustainability of the pastures in the studied region.
pasture evaluation; soil physicals and chemicals attributes; sustainability