Soil susceptibility to compaction under use conditions in southern Brazil

ABSTRACT The degree of soil compaction is intensified by its inadequate management, compaction being variable depending on soil type since even under identical management conditions, different types have different abilities to withstand load. The objective of this study was to evaluate the susceptibility to compaction of different classes of soils under no-tillage (NT) croping system compared to the original condition. Thus, i) soils with the same source material have distinct resistance to compression with increased NT adoption time; ii) the most sensitive indicators of this change are the ratios mass:volume and volume:volume and; iii) there is a relationship between resistance and compaction susceptibility with the amount and type of oxide. Soil samples were collected in areas under NT and under natural condition in order to assess the impact imposed by the NT on the attributes density and porosity, precompression stress and compressibility index and relate them to the oxide type of, and content in, the soils under study. The results show that the density and macroporosity were those most affected by the NT agricultural use, regardless of soil type, that is, its dynamic is related more to soil use and less to mineralogical characteristics. The soil resistance and compaction susceptibility were higher in soil developed in basalt, followed by those developed in sandstone and granite. Both the organic matter content and type and concentration of iron oxides were related to the soil resistance and susceptibility to compaction. RESUMO O grau de compactação do solo é intensificado pelo seu inadequado manejo, sendo a compactação depente do tipo de solo, uma vez que mesmo sob condições idênticas de uso, diferentes solos têm diferentes habilidades para suportar a carga. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a susceptibilidade à compactação de diferentes classes de solos sob sistema plantio direto (PD) em relação ao estado original. Assim, i) solos com o mesmo material de origem apresentam distinta resistência à compressão com o aumento do tempo adopção do PD; ii) os indicadores mais sensíveis desta mudança são os da relação massa: volume e volume: volume e; iii) existe uma relação entre resistência e suscetibilidade à compactação com a quantidade e o tipo de óxido. As amostras de solo foram coletadas em áreas sob PD e sob condição natural (CN), a fim de avaliar o impacto imposta pelo PD sobre os atributos densidade e porosidade, tensão de pré-compressão e índice de