Impactos dos sistemas de cultivo de hortaliças sobre a qualidade de solos da região serrana do Espírito Santo

Abstract

Considering the lack of studies involving soils in agricultural areas in the mountainous region of ES, since it owns a large part of the state's vegetable production, the main objective of this work was to evaluate physical and biological chemical attributes of soils cultivated with vegetables under different managements. Mountain region of ES, aiming to obtain a general perspective of how the different management systems have impacted the edaphic quality. 13 areas were selected in the study region, prioritizing economically important cultures and the type of management adopted. Deformed and undisturbed soil samples were collected at depths of 0-20 and 60-80 cm to assess soil attributes as well as quantify the levels of metallic trace elements. Pitfall traps were also installed to quantify and identify soil fauna. The data were submitted to cluster analysis by similarity (Cluster Analysis). The chemical, physical and biological attributes were not effective in differentiating the areas according to the management system employed, since the statistical analysis grouped different management areas, making it impossible to conclude which type of management would be beneficially or adversely influencing the soil quality. However, the results express the effect of the agricultural practices and techniques adopted, a set of which are more influential in the quality of the soil than the management systems as an assumption. Thus, the ideal would be to develop more studies focused on agricultural practices employed in the soil than the crop systems in which agricultural areas are classified