Soil Health Assessment in Brazilian Subtropical Oxisol Under Land Use and Long-term Tillage Systems

Abstract

Abstract Soil health has been used worldwide for soil monitoring in different soil use and management. The objective of the study was to evaluate, in a Subtropical Oxisol of the Campos Gerais region in Paraná state, if the Visual Evaluation of Soil structure (VESS) and Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) approaches allow evaluate soil response to various land uses or soil tillage used in the region. The land use and tillage practices consist of conventional tillage, minimum tillage, no-tillage, and secondary forest. The SMAF was used as a tool to evaluate the soil health using five indicators: pH, phosphorus, potassium, bulk density, and soil organic carbon. The VESS was used to determine the soil structural quality. The secondary forest showed the best soil structure and tillage practices declined soil structure quality. Similarly, the soil health index was higher in secondary forest compared to tillage practices, and the tillage had little effect on soil health. The SMAF showed differences between land use and tillage practices. The VESS method could be used as a complementary tool for monitoring the soil health.

Keywords

• Soil quality
• Soil Management Assessment Framework
• Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure
• No-till
• Minimum tillage