Mechanized agriculture is increasing rapidly in the Cerrado region of Brazil, causing concerns about water quality, off-site impacts, and sustainability. Our objective was to determine the impact of tillage on soil biological activity and aggregate stability in an Oxisol typical to the region. Three different tillage practices common to the Cerrado region (no-till, disk harrow, and disk plow) a...

ABSTRACT An important strategy for the sustainable management of Cerrado soils is no-till (NT) systems, which may improve soil properties, particularly aggregation. Soil aggregates can be categorized according to their formation pathways into physicogenic (Phy) and biogenic (Bio). This study aimed (i) quantify relative proportion (ii) evaluate levels total organic carbon respective humic physic...

To evaluate the long-term effect of compost (CM) and inorganic fertilizer (NPK) application on microbial community structure and organic carbon (OC) accumulation at aggregate scale, soils from plots amended with CM, NPK and no fertilizer (control) for 20 years (1989-2009) were collected. Soil was separated into large macroaggregate (>2,000 μm), small macroaggregate (250-2,000 μm), microaggregat...

Soil samples were collected from four aquaculture ponds (yellow perch culture), a control pond (without aquaculture activities, fallow pond), crop land (under corn), and forest land to estimate the carbon (C) sequestration potential in the Piketon county, Ohio, USA. The averaged total of C was 6.5 ± 2, 8.8 ± 2, 8.53 ± 0.2 and 10.49 ± 1.1 Mg/ha (Mg=10(6)g) in < 0.25 mm fraction; 15.2 ± 2, 16.0 ±...

Soil aggregate stability (SAS) is an important factor for soil quality and fertility. There are limited possibilities to influence this property, but one investigated method the application of additives which have potential improve SAS. We established a four-year field experiment on clay-loam Luvisol with poor structure monitor SAS following grassland revegetation. Treatments included: (1) untr...

Biochar (or pyrogenic organic matter) is increasingly proposed as a soil amendment for improving fertility, carbon sequestration and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. However, little is known about its effects on aggregation, an important indicator of soil quality and functioning. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of Eucalyptus wood biochar (B, pyrolyzed at 550 °C, at 0 or 2.5...