Cleyton dos Santos Fernandes

Inceptisol Physicochemical Attributes in the Caatinga Biome Agroforestry Systems

We evaluated two areas of sustainable management within the Caatinga and one area of conventional agricultural cultivation to compare their physicochemical attributes with those of native forest. The management strategies were as follows: (1) thinning of savanna; (2) thinning of strips; (3) conventional tillage with plowing and harrowing; and (4) native forest. The main indicators of physicochemical quality of the environments were bulk density, porosity, clay amount, phosphorus content, cation exchange capacity, and organic matter. The use of soil for agricultural purposes resulted in a reduction of soil organic matter, regardless of the tillage system. Even though the management strategy, which involved thinning of savanna, further increased the soil phosphorus content and compaction, it did not reach critical values that limit crop development.

Dynamics of Ions in Soils Irrigated with Saline Reject

The objective of this work was to evaluate the variation in the electrical conductivity and the mobilization of ions present in reject brine from desalination plant of brackish well water in three types of soil. The mobilization of the contaminant ions in the reject brine was studied in glass percolation columns, which were filled with soil of contrasting textures (eutrophic CAMBISOL, typic dystrophic Red OXISOL, ENTISOL Quartzipsamment). Experiments ware repeated three times each, and the initial and final concentrations of the ion contaminants were analyzed. The pollution potential of this residue was determined by the retardation factor and dispersion-diffusion coefficient of Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ , besides the variation of electrical conductivity along the profile of each soil studied. In the Red Oxisol, Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ ions move with greater ease resulting in possibility largest of potential of ground water contamination. In Entisol Quartzipsamment presented higher Mg 2+ (R) ion advancement speed, that is, higher subsurface contamination power for these ions. The eutrophic Cambisol presented low diffusion-dispersion coefficient in all the evaluated ions and, therefore, lower mobility of the ions in the soil profile, and consequently, a greater possibility of contamination when irrigated with reject brine.

Physicochemical and Microbiological Properties and Humic Substances of Composts Produced with Food Residues

The consolidation of a wide and effective management system of solid residues, especially biodegradable ones, is one of the great challenges of current society. Composting was evaluated as an option of organic fertilization for soil enrichment, using raw food residues in substitution to bovine manure. The compost piles were built with 30% of biodegradable residues mixed with 70% of ground tree pruning material. The effects of different proportions of food residues (FR) and bovine manure (BM) as source of carbon were tested in 5 treatments (T1 = 15%BM + 15%FR, T2 = 20%BM + 10%FR, T3 = 10%BM + 20%FR, T4 = 30%BM and T5 = control, 30%FR), in randomized blocks, under open field conditions for 90 days. The pH, temperature and moisture content of the compost were measured weekly. The aged compost was evaluated for physicochemical and microbiological properties and carbon contents in the humic substances. The analyses of the results indicated that all studied composts reached the maturation stage with satisfactory contents of humic substances, macronutrients, and micronutrients, indicating that food residues can be used as a source of carbon in compost piles to produce organic fertilizers. The contents of the evaluated chemical contaminants were much lower than those established in the main legislation and current normative instructions and, in terms of contamination by pathogens, there was the absence of total coliforms, thermo tolerant coliforms, and Salmonellas.