In the region of Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil, soils profiles with argillic horizons were selected to evaluate the alterations which occurred during the process of soil formation and to investigate pedogenetic characteristics related to the parent material. Within this region, these soils occur on sloping and hilly landscapes. They were selected for this study because they preserve characteristics inherited from the original bedrocks. Three profiles formed from geologic material with different chemical composition were selected: Profile 1 - Red-Yellow Argisol developed from granitic rocks (Granito de Itutinga); Profile 2 - Red Argisol formed from dioritic rocks (Diorito do Rosário); and Profile 3 - Argiluvic Chernosol formed from basic rocks of the Greenstone-Belt of Lavras. Throughout the layers of each profile, from the consolidated bedrock to the sólum, studies were carried out (petrographic analyses on the consolidated and weathered bedrock, micromorphological analyses of C, BC horizons and sólum) to investigate the processes of soil formation by evaluating weathering reactions and textural features, with the aid of X-ray diffraction analyses to characterize clay mineralogy. Based on the results obtained, the relationships between parent material and pedogenetic processes were assessed and the order of destruction of primary minerals established. The evolution of the alteration processes along the profiles was found to be directly linked to the texture, chemical and mineralogical composition of the parent materials, revealed in the micromorphological characteristics and mineralogical composition of the horizons constituents of each profile, particularly in the argillic horizon.
micromorphology; mineralogy; petrography; pedogenetic alteration