Abstract

REYES R, Willians J. Soil compaction processes in a Vertisol under four handling conditions in Coro Plain, Falcón State, Venezuela. Bioagro [online]. 2014, vol.26, n.1, pp.39-48. ISSN 1316-3361.

The study was conducted on soils classified as Vertisol, belonging to the Academic Support Unit “Ingeniero José Landaeta”, Academic Unit of the Francisco de Miranda University, under four management conditions: fallow condition (C1), semi-permanent crop condition (C2), previous pasture conditions (C3), and intensely intervened areas (C4). Under each condition the soil compaction process was evaluated at 0-15 and 15-30 cm using physical, chemical and biological indicators. It was found no differences in the first layer for the management conditions, while in the second layer bulk density significantly increased for conditions of increased mechanical intervention. Likewise, principal component analysis discriminated two groups of soils: one under conditions of increased antropic disturbance (C2 and C4), and the other consisting of resting or less disturbed soils (C1 and C3); the first group was associated to greater variation in bulk density due to higher mechanical manipulation, while the second group was associated to improvements of organic matter content, attributed to the natural vegetation contributions.

Keywords : Soil compaction indicators; physical; chemical and biological soil properties.

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