Resumen

REYES R, Willians J. Evaluation of the compaction susceptibility in four series of soil under agricultural use in Venezuela. Bioagro [online]. 2010, vol.22, n.1, pp.29-36. ISSN 1316-3361.

Soil compaction is one of the most common physic degradation processes in highly productive agricultural lands and one of the reasons of productivity reduction. In this situation it is justified the development of methodologies that allows estimating the soil compaction risk, and so, prevent or mitigate its adverse effects. In this study, the compaction representative curves of the soil series Valle Lindo and Valle de Quíbor (Lara State), Turén (Portuguesa State), and El Patillal (Falcón State), Venezuela, were developed, using the standard Proctor methodology, with the purpose of using it as a tool to estimate the susceptibility degree of the soil to get compaction, estimating the humidity contents in which the soil present greatest risks of compaction. There were also estimated the relationship of the variables of the compaction curve (critic moisture and maximum bulk density) with the soil properties (particles size distribution and organic matter) and it was found that greatest contents of thick particles and low organic matter content originated largest densities at lowest humidity contents, while the prevalence of fine particles and high organic matter content produced lower densities at higher humidity content. The FL soils of Quíbor presented greater susceptibility to compaction that soils with similar texture of Turén. On the other hand, the sandy soils of the El Patillal presented greater risks of compaction than the soils of same textural group of Quíbor and Valle Lindo.

Palabras clave : Soil degradation; soil physics; organic matter.