Carbon stock and physical attributes of an Oxisol under different management system

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes in carbon stocks, crop residues from the soil surface (RVS), and some soil physical properties such as bulk density (Ds), particle density (Dp) and total pore volume (VTP) under different management systems in the ‘Cerrado goiano’. For this, in the southwestern part of Goiás state four different types of management were selected, namely: no-tillage (NT) with crop-livestock integration (ILP), NT without ILP and natural areas of ‘Cerrado’ (CN) and pasture (PA ). In each area, soil samples were collected in 0-5, 5-10 and 10-20 cm depths. The experimental design was completely randomized. Treatment with CN presented in all depths studied (0 to 20 cm) lower values of Ds and the VTP higher than other treatments. Among the management systems, the area of ILP and NT had lower Ds than the PA in the topsoil, however, there was no difference between these management systems for Dp and VTP. The area of CN presented EstC similar to the RVS and NT and ILP in the topsoil, while the ILP presented EstC similar to NC area in 10-20 cm.